


Mother of Sentinels

by Indygodusk



Series: The Parker Triptych [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, NCIS, Rurouni Kenshin, The Pretender, The Sentinel
Genre: Alternate Universe - Sentinels and Guides Are Known, Attempted Kidnapping, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, F/M, Murder, Non-Explicit Sex, Women Being Awesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-06
Updated: 2016-09-14
Packaged: 2018-08-13 08:44:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 36,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7970323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indygodusk/pseuds/Indygodusk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Miss Parker hates kids. Yet when her orphaned brother joins the newest trend of coming unexpectedly Online, she learns that The Centre has been repressing and destroying the rare Sentinel/Guide gift for years. Her brother is their latest experiment. The imperative to protect her baby brother does what nothing else ever has, forcing Miss Parker to break from The Centre. Then she realizes that her protective imperative won’t shut off as Miss Parker comes online as a Sentinel. The annoying Japanese woman on the astral plane calling her The Mother of Sentinels isn’t helping things either. Somehow, she’s sure Jarod has something to do with this and when she finds him, she’s going to shoot him (though she might have to tie him down and kiss him first).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It Starts with a Call

**Author's Note:**

> This is the third standalone story in The Parker Triptych. All three stories are different fandoms, but use ‘the Sentinel trope/crossover’ of having a world with known Sentinels with enhanced physical senses who bond to Guides with mental gifts. It’s pretty self-explanatory in the story, but feel free to look it up online if you want more explanation. I love stories using Sentinels: the little black dress of fandom.

 

“What?”

“Have you ever thought about answering your phone with hello?” Jarod asked.

“Have you ever thought about pretending to be less annoying?” Miss Parker answered, holding the phone against her shoulder with her chin as she put on one pearl earring. “If you can pretend to be literally anything, why not that?”

Just hearing his voice immediately soothed away the lingering headache from her nightmare, not that she’d admit it to anyone. Stupid nightmare. One minute she’d been running frantically through a hospital corridor with her little brother tucked against her shoulder, dodging bullets, and the next she’d been standing in a dojo in Japan practicing Kendo to stave off boredom while her lover, Tommy Tanaka, was busy across the street at a meeting.

The dream dojo perfectly matched her memory of that summer. So did the annoying instructor who’d randomly interrupt her solo practice to offer unwanted advice. “Stop dropping your elbow and pay attention to your surroundings,” ordered Kamiya-Sensei, appearing unexpectedly to poke Miss Parker’s shoulder and then following up with a painful hit to the thigh. “The Mother of Sentinels should be more observant,” she’d scolded.

Kamiya-Sensei had a scar in the shape of a star on her upper chest. The original wound must have been very painful to leave such a deep pattern. When the woman got particularly annoying, Parker used to imagine giving her another painful scar somewhere else.

“I’m nobody’s mother,” Miss Parker had snapped. “And like I said the last time you showed up, I didn’t ask for you to teach me anything. Wakuda-Sensei said I could practice in here. Talk to him if you’ve got a problem with it.”

“The only problem I have is your willing blindness.” Kamiya-Sensei took her through a fast series of awkwardly jarring blows with their practice shinai. Miss Parker gritted her teeth and forced herself to react instead of think. The movements became smoother and the strikes more staccato.

“Better,” nodded the woman approvingly.  “You’re ready to take your place and play your part. It’s time to wake up, Parker-san.”  Then her face morphed into the muzzle of a big black bear, roaring, “Wake up!”

Heart racing, Miss Parker had sat bolt upright in her bed with her gun pointing steadily at shadows. Strange that her time in Japan should be haunting her dreams now. She hadn’t thought of Kamiya-Sensei in years. Sydney would probably love to psychoanalyze the whole thing, but she refused to give him the satisfaction. Sometimes a dream was a dream and a bear was just a bear.

Jarod laughed, drawing her out of her thoughts. “You know that I try to always tell you the truth, Miss Parker. If I was too polite, you’d never trust me and just hang up instead of chatting.”

“I’m about to hang up on you anyways, Jarod. I have much more important things to do than talk in circles with you, like drop off my dry cleaning before work. Unless you feel like making my life easy by walking through the front doors of the Centre today, I still have to submit a report on our current efforts to track you down.”

“You could just copy and paste the last one. Everything is still status quo, after all. I’m still running and you’re still chasing, unsuccessfully I might add. Besides, there’s no need to rush,” Jarod added with annoying cheer, “the dry cleaner won’t take your designer suits today.”

“What have you done now, Pez-head?” she demanded, clasping a gold belt around the waist of her white Chanel suit.

“Haven’t you been watching the news? Sentinels and Guides are coming online all over the world in unprecedented numbers, forcing abandoned SG Centers all over the world to reopen and governments to tremble,” Jarod answered with a devious smile in his voice.

Dropping her head, Miss Parker groaned in disgust. “Please tell me that my favorite dry cleaner didn’t come Online as a Sentinel? There’s no way a Sentinel’s heightened senses could handle the chemicals and dirty clothes at a dry cleaner. It would overload their sense of smell and touch and send them into a toxic zone out. The universe really does hate me.”

In the background of Jarod’s call, Parker heard something faint, like the chiming of a clock. It seemed familiar. Focusing, she could suddenly make out voices too. They had a distinctive London accent.

Miss Parker smirked, distracted from her upset. “You’re getting sloppy, Jarod. Are you actually in London? Or just a British-themed cafe? I can hear Big Ben and the accent of your moronic neighbors quite clearly.”

Suddenly the sounds got quieter as she heard a window slide closed. “You shouldn’t have been able to hear that,” he muttered in surprise.

“You’ve caught me,” she said, deadpan. “I’ve come Online as a Sentinel and used my enhanced hearing to spy on your environment. The Centre’s no-tolerance policy forced them to fire me, leaving me no choice but to join the cast of the new hit daytime drama, ‘The Young and the Restless Sentinel.’”

She waited through a beat of incredulous silence, then added archly, “Or you underestimated me and forgot to be careful. Hmm, which is more likely? There’s only one right answer here, Jarod.”

Chuckling, Jarod said, “Just for that I should make you drive all the way out to the dry cleaners on your own, but unlike you, Miss Parker, I can be nice. I’ll even tell you that I’m not leaving any clues or red notebooks behind this time, so you don’t need to waste time bothering to follow up.”

Slipping on her white jacket, she let herself smile since no one was watching, “Of course I’ll follow up. I don’t want you getting too complacent, and I can be nice… to people who deserve it. Unfortunately, that number is quite small.”

“If you worked in a nicer place, you’d meet better people,” he chided. “As for your dry cleaners, there’s a new Guide in the family, not a Sentinel. For every one new Sentinel coming Online recently, there’ve been three or four Guides. Your dry cleaners will probably reopen in a couple of weeks after they receive training.”

Miss Parker sighed with annoyance. “A couple of weeks? Is that really necessary? The blood stains on my Gucci skirt won’t wait that long.”

“You haven’t gotten close enough to chase me in months, so just who’s blood is it? One of Raines’s minions? Your brother Lyle? A handsy trucker at a gas station?” asked Jarod curiously, though a hint of genuine concern threaded through his words.

“I appreciate that you automatically assume it isn’t mine,” Parker replied, strapping on her gold watch.

“It usually isn’t where you’re involved. I’ve seen your talent for violence first hand, remember?” She could hear the faint creak of Jarod’s leather jacket as he leaned against the wall.

“You say the nicest things,” she grinned as she buckled on her gun holster. “The blood is actually Broots’ fault. Last week the geek decided to stay up all night playing some idiotic video game. He started falling asleep in the lobby while waiting for the elevator and the newest security guard freaked out, called him a zoning Sentinel and tackled him before anyone could stop him.”

“Broots can be an annoying little cretin, but he’s mine,” Miss Parker seethed with remembered fury. “The moronic guard dislocated Broots’ shoulder, bloodied his lip, and then refused to let him up as Broots was supposedly violating company policy against Sentinels. Whether it was the guard’s own genius or on orders from another player I’m not sure, but he won’t be making the mistake of touching my people again.”

She scowled. “I should have just shot him. It would’ve been cleaner. Instead, his face exploded all over my Gucci leather skirt. If the blood doesn’t come out, I’m going to HR and having them dock his severance pay for a replacement.”

“Poor Broots. Is that why he’s been keeping his head down lately?” Jarrod asked. “I haven’t seen his usual internet tracks, though I’ve admittedly been distracted picking up a few new skills.”

“I’m sure you’ll annoy me with those at some point soon, but no. He got Sydney to approve a two week sick leave while I was distracted. Since the public school’s on break right now, he took off with his daughter, Debbie,” Parker answered dryly. “They’re probably binge watching Star Wars  in some dinky Chinese Theater somewhere.”

“Oh, I liked Star Wars,” Jarod said with boyish delight.

“Ugh, you would,” Miss Parker rolled her eyes.

At this point she usually hung up on him or vice versa, but as had often happened in the last few months since their almost-kiss on the Isle of Carthis, she found herself prolonging the conversation. “I’m about to put on my coat and go get coffee. Do you actually have anything useful to say?”

“I was going to do a little more digging, but having you help will make it go faster,” Jarod said musingly. “Have you ever wondered why the Centre hates Sentinels and Guides?”

“Probably because they’re hard-wired to protect the Tribe and the Centre is all about protecting itself and profiting off the misery of others. It’s hard to hide secrets from watchmen with enhanced senses. Besides, anyone latent who worked for the Centre for long would either quit or go dormant because of the shady moral choices involved. That’s the way a Sentinel’s senses and a Guide’s empathy work. What’s your point?” Miss Parker snapped, impatient with his insistence on leading her about by the nose instead of just telling her what he’d discovered.

“I think it goes back farther than that,” Jarod said softly. “On the Isle of Carthis, I saw anti-SG imagery everywhere. Ocee mentioned that no Guide or Sentinel had come online on the island in recorded history, which stretched back over 400 years. The probability of that being a natural phenomenon is staggeringly low. The day after the news started trumpeting the resurgence of Guides and Sentinels, Mr. Raines reactivated something called Project Lava. I doubt it’s a coincidence.”

“Great,” Miss Parker sighed. “So not only do I descend from a man who killed his whole family, I descend from wackos who managed to twist all their Sentinels and Guides into going dormant. As always, Jarod, you are a ray of sunshine.”

“If the sun illuminates the truth, isn’t it time to come out of the shadows?” he asked coaxingly.

“They’re never going to let me walk away from the Centre and I refuse to cower and hide in those rat-holes you like to inhabit.” Miss Parker met her stony-eyed reflection in the window. “I’ll stay until I find all my answers. Then they’ll kill me or I’ll burn everything to the ground.”

Closing her phone decisively, she dropped it into her purse, uninterested in further platitudes. At the coat closet she pushed past the black cashmere she’d been planning to wear in favor of a chocolate-colored leather jacket. She’d bought it in England years ago.

The first time she’d worn the jacket, she’d been accosted by a nice young woman who’d somehow mistaken Parker for the girl’s mother, who’d bought the same leather jacket. For some reason, she’d taken an instant liking to the teenager, who’s mother’s maiden name was Parker too. It wasn’t an uncommon last name, but when her family secrets became too painful, she’d secretly pretend that her tree of family horrors included a perfectly nice and normal English girl named Hermione with a very fashionable mother. Her little brother Gabriel would probably like Hermione too, especially when he grew up and started asking his own questions. Pulling on the cool leather, Miss Parker smoothed it into place and left for work.

Once inside the Centre, Miss Parker tracked down Sydney. The gray-haired psychiatrist was humming a bit of Bach to himself as he cleaned up the simulation lab. "Don’t you have an assistant who does that," she greeted him.

Raising an eyebrow, Sydney finished stacking his cards into a box. "I do, but sometimes letting my mind percolate on things while I tidy can be useful. What’s got you visiting so early in the day?”

Blowing out a breath, she folded her arms. "Jarod called with some cryptic comment about the Centre hating Sentinels and Guides. He told me Raines reopened something called Project Lava. I need you to look into it. Jarod's in London, by the way, probably cavorting around with Paddington Bear, but by the time we could get over there he'd be long gone. He said he didn't leave any red notebooks behind and unfortunately I'm inclined to believe him. I have a feeling he's coming back to the states anyways.”

Throwing herself into a chair, she added, “After that bout of morning annoyance, both my favorite dry cleaners and coffee shop are closed because someone’s come Online and is busy getting trained by the regional Sentinel-Guide Center. Jarod warned me about the dry cleaners, but not the coffee shop, probably on purpose." Miss Parker scowled.

"I've heard that the few SG Centers are overwhelmed with all of the people coming Online, especially since many of them are Guides and in their 30s or 40s. Usually people come online between the ages of 12 to 25." Sydney pursed his lips thoughtfully. "I wonder what changed? I've never had the chance to interact with many Sentinels or Guides, especially not once I came here. You know the Centre discriminates against them."

"And just why is that, Syd?" Miss Parker asked moodily. "I know my father hated them, but I've long suspected that my mother was a latent Guide."

"It wouldn't surprise me." Sydney smiled nostalgically. "Your mother was an intuitive and compassionate woman. Everyone was drawn to her."

"But as far as I know, she never came Online. I wish Broots hadn't scampered off." She began pacing. "Lyle and Raines have been too quiet lately. I vaguely remember my father mentioning an old project that would protect our family from the ‘corruption and primitive instincts of Sentinels.’” She quoted. “I wouldn't be surprised if it was this Project Lava."

"Broots will be back in a week. You could also try getting more information from Jarod the next time he calls," Sydney said delicately. "He does have a way of ferreting out Centre secrets."

"Or I could use what I discover to set a trap for him and end our game of cat and mouse once and for all," she said archly.

"If that is what you want, Miss Parker," Sydney said easily with an annoying little smile.

"Of course it's what I want," she snapped. "Look through your old notes from the summer I turned twelve, right before my first trip to Japan. That's when I remember my father mentioning it." After receiving his agreement, she stalked back to her office, once more nursing a headache.

Several days later, she looked up from her desk to find Sydney hovering in the doorway. Miss Parker sighed. "I know that face. Come on in and shut the door, Syd. I just swept the office for bugs and made a pot of coffee if you want some."

"You aren't drinking too much caffeine, I hope," he said, picking up a delicately curved ivory teacup and filling it halfway. "You know it's bad for your ulcer."

Waving away his words, she answered, "I gave up my cigarettes for that thing. I only brought the pot in until my barista comes back from Kumbaya SG Camp. Don't nag."

After taking a few bracing sips of the gourmet coffee, Sydney put his cup down on her desk and leaned forward. "I found something in my notes. The summer you turned twelve, your father temporarily activated Project Lava. It only ran for one day. Half the building left early complaining of headaches, nausea, and anxiety. Jarod became so sick and uncharacteristically violent he had to be restrained and sedated. I vaguely remember feeling the evil of this place pressing down on me heavily that day. I left promptly and self-medicated at a local bar until drunk enough to pass out."

"But what is Project Lava?" she asked keenly.

Sydney shook his head. "I couldn't find out, but I was hoping you might remember yourself with a bit of prompting. In the DSA I watched of Jarod's simulation that day, I saw you and Mr. Parker in the background. You mentioned a familiar name." He handed her a disk.

Lips pressed thin, she started the black and white video. In the shadows near the back of the room, she saw her twelve year-old self arguing with her father. "But Daddy, you said we'd go practice our Japanese in a real Japanese restaurant today. Why'd we have to come back into the Centre?"

"And we'll still go and do that later, my Angel, but first I need you to help out with a project first," Mr. Parker said impatiently.

"With Jarod?" she asked with poorly hidden excitement.

"No, with Bobby," said Mr. Raines curtly as he walked up. "I have him locked up on SL-27 getting ready for Project Lava. He's almost fully Online, but I've convinced him to cooperate."

Young Miss Parker shrunk back against her father. "There is no SL-27 and- and Online like a Sentinel? I thought they were all bad."

"They are," Mr. Parker answered, "but Bobby won't be a Sentinel for long. You've been having some strange rashes lately yourself, sweetheart. This will be good for you."

Mr. Raines stepped gestured impatiently. "Let's go."

"I don't think I want to, Daddy," she said, setting her jaw mulishly and crossing her arms.

"That wasn't a suggestion. Follow Mr. Raines, unless you're choosing to disobey your father?" growled Mr. Parker.

Resistance faltering beneath his glare, young Miss Parker's head drooped. "No, Sir," she said with forced meekness, falling into step as they left the room. The video stopped.

"I don't remember that," Miss Parker whispered. "I remember Daddy promising to take me out to a Japanese restaurant before our trip, but he never actually did. I would have remembered helping out Raines though, I've always found him creepy and vile. Not to mention the fact that I don't remember meeting anyone named Bobby as a child.” Her voice dropped, “I remember all of the other children destroyed by this place. You know who that has to be, don’t you?"

Sydney sighed, "Bobby is what they called Mr. Lyle in his foster home as a child. I wonder if they suppressed your memory somehow? We could try hypnosis," he suggested.

"Jarod's the lab rat, not me," she refused, getting up to pace impatiently. "We need Broots to get back and search the mainframe for us. Project Lava certainly sounds like something to suppress Sentinel gifts. Could Lyle have actually come Online as a child? He's certainly creepy and evil enough to go dormant. However, I've met dormant Sentinels before and he just doesn't give off the same, broken-Sentinel vibe."

"No, I have to agree," Sydney said. "But you're ignoring something else your father mentioned. Do you remember having rashes that summer?"

Grinding her teeth, Miss Parker leaned against the wall. "I had allergies as a child, who doesn't? That summer I became fascinated with the ocean and went swimming almost every day. It dried out my skin in a few places. When I went back to boarding school, it got better."

"Could you have been coming Online as a Sentinel?" Sydney probed gently.

Miss Parker raised her eyebrows with incredulity. "Leaving aside the fact that female Sentinels are extremely rare, can you honestly see me as a Sentinel? Protector of the tribe and champion of justice?"

Tilting his head to the side, Sydney gave a strange half-smile. "Yes, actually."

Shaking her head, Miss Parker went to her desk and ejected the DSA. "If I didn't know better I'd suspect you doctored your coffee when my back was turned. You're either delusional or drunk, Syd. I'm more likely to become Mary Poppins to a gaggle of schoolchildren than I am to become a Sentinel."

He grinned and shrugged. "I must admit that both images are infinitely amusing, though you have been spending more time with your little brother lately."

"Gabriel's not some random annoying kid, he's family.” Miss Parker shrugged and looked away. "He's also the only other person on the planet who misses my father. Mr. Parker probably wasn't Gabe's biological father either, but I'm still claiming Gabe as my brother. He's the only family I'm willing to acknowledge in this place. Lyle and Raines don't count."

“It’s admirable, I’m just surprised you chose to adopt him,” Sydney said.

Miss Parker grimaced. “When Daddy died they almost gave Gabe to Lyle,” they both shuddered. “I had no option but to take custody. Gabe’s still living in the old house with his nanny Sharon for now. She’s annoying but competent. I got Sam to move in to provide security. You know Sam deserves better than to stay some random Sweeper cleaning up the Centre’s messes. His loyalty to me is absolute. I need someone like that to watch Gabe for me. 

"Your mother would be proud of you for looking after Gabriel," Sydney encouraged.

"I'm trying to get him and his nanny moved into my house permanently, but the stupid woman is resisting. If Gabe didn't like her so much, I'd fire her." Miss Parker frowned.

"But then you'd have no one to look after the child while you were busy," Sydney reminded her.

Miss Parker got an idea. "Broots' daughter Debbie's getting older. Maybe she could watch him. I'd pay more than the minimum wage from the local greasy spoon."

"But what about when she goes off for college like you've been pushing her to do? You'd have to restart your search and disrupt young Gabriel's life all over again," admonished Sydney.

Flicking her fingers, she dropped back into her chair. "Fine, I'll leave her be for now." Staring off into the distance, she absently scratched at her wrist, "I just wish I knew if Project Lava was something that's going to burn me."

"I'll let you know if I find out anything else," Sydney said, then paused. "Is it worth asking Lyle if he remembers anything about Project Lava?"

Scratching her wrist one last time, she turned to show it to Sydney, "Just the thought of it is giving me hives. Lyle won't tell us anything unless it benefits him. Besides, he’s probably helping Raines with it.” Tilting his head in acknowledgement, Sydney left.

The following Monday, Broots finally returned to work. When Miss Parker blew into his office, he didn't even jump. He seemed strangely Zen.

"Did you start smoking weed on your break or something? You’re never this chill. You’ll fail your employee drug screening and then Debbie will have to drop out of school to put you into rehab," Miss Parker mocked.

"Debbie's fine," Broots said, looking strangely nervous for a moment.

"Wait," Miss Parker turned to face him squarely, "I was teasing. She's not really smoking marijuana, is she?"

"No, of course not," Broots said defensively. It seemed honest, so she let it go. He was a terrible liar.

"Is your shoulder feeling better?" she asked abruptly.

Broots smiled in surprise, "Thanks for asking. It's occasionally sore, but much better than before. I appreciate you standing up for me by breaking that guy's jaw." Miss Parker waved away his thanks.

Broots continued, "Marsha in accounts told me that they fired him before he could quit and try to claim damages for excessive force. Billy and Jerome, who usually man the front desk, also sent me a nice card saying sorry about the incident. Billy took the day off for his daughter's dance recital and Jerome was helping Monique from housekeeping carry a tray of banana cupcakes for Sun Li's birthday party so his hands were full. Everyone is even more afraid of you than before, though Monique offered to make you banana cupcakes in thanks because she thought the new guy was a sexist, prejudiced pig who deserved what you gave him and more."

Shaking her head, Miss Parker said, "You can stop rambling now. Also, tell your little friend no cupcakes."

"Yes, Miss Parker," Broots said. Then he looked left and right obviously. "Sydney said you had something for me to look up for you? Something secret?"

Leaning a hip against his desk, she looked down at him. "I need you to look up information on a Project Lava. Mr. Parker, Raines, and Mr. Lyle are all involved. We think the Centre figured out a way to suppress Sentinels and Guides."

Broots jerked in surprise and went pale. "That's illegal and unethical! Also impossible, I thought."

Raising an eyebrow incredulously, Miss Parker said, "This is the Centre. We specialize in illegal, unethical, and impossible, remember?" Blushing, Broots nodded his head. Miss Parker gave him a copy of the video from Sydney as a starting point and then left him to work.

Sneaking through the bombed out remnants of sublevel-27 a few days later had not been on Miss Parker’s list of thing to do. At least she’d worn her favorite scarlet silk Chanel skirt and matching three inch heels yesterday and opted today for a charcoal pantsuit and boots. Boots made it easier to sneak and the dark pantsuit cleaned better.

However, it wasn’t as dirty and abandoned down here as this level of horrors should be. Broots had made a new friend in the lunchroom who’d supposedly seen men with hardhats headed to a level that wasn’t supposed to exist. Considering that debris had been pushed back against the walls and new lights had been strung up, she put away her flashlight and grimly conceded that the rumors were true.

Suddenly she heard voices and the stomp of boots. Miss Parker ducked back into a shadowed room missing a door. Heat-twisted bedframes with stirrups and dangling restraints occupied one wall. She refused to let herself picture what they’d been used for.

A party of workmen clomped by. They smelled like they hadn’t bathed in days. Wrinkling her nose, she clamped a hand over her face and breathed shallowly. “I can’t wait to get to the bar and relax. The game’s on tonight and there’s a beer with my name on it waiting for me,” one of them shouted. You’d think they’d try to be a little quieter on the ‘ _secret’_ level.

“I hear you,” his friend replied loudly. “At least it’s quitting time. Just a few more weeks and we’ll see the back of this creepy job.”

“And good riddance. If the money wasn’t so good….” They kept complaining as they made their way to the exit, but she stopped paying attention before her brain started appreciating tractor pulls and daisy dukes. Miss Parker waited a few more minutes for any other stragglers to leave. Then she came out and continued her search.

Something at the end of the hall was tweaking her memory, a smell more than anything, something faintly sulphurous that made her stomach roil queasily. Some horrifying memory scraped at the edges of her consciousness, staying just out of reach. Because it made her want to run away, she forced herself to go forward.

At the very end of the hall, the workers hadn’t made much progress. Miss Parker had to duck beneath several collapsed girders to reach a blank stretch of wall covered with scorch marks. Although there weren’t any lights back here, she found herself seeing just fine in the shadows. Something was here, she could feel it.

After examining the wall, she finally found faint scrapes in one corner of the wall from a crowbar. Digging her fingers into the marks, Miss Parker pulled, trying to ignore the splinters. The entire wall abruptly swung out with a loud screech of rusty hinges.

Wincing, she pulled her hands down from her ringing ears and drew her gun. If she focused, she could see the entire length of the hallway. Nothing disturbed the silence except the loud buzz of the hanging electric lights in the repaired section. She hadn’t noticed it at first, but now it sounded like a beehive. Ignoring the gathering headache, she turned back to see an old, iron banded door that looked like it belonged in an English manor house. 

Miss Parker remembered this door. She remembered wanting to run away and the heavy hand of her father pushing her along. Sweat beaded on her upper lip and beneath her arms. Grasping the icy-cold metal knob, she twisted. The door opened soundlessly. With a click she turned on her flashlight and swept the room, illuminating floors, walls, and ceiling all tiled in dull gray stone. The room had lantern hooks on the walls.

The focal point of the room was a knobby and asymmetric matte black alter made of what looked like volcanic rock. When she blinked her eyes closed, she saw the air around the altar writhing, but when she snapped them back open the effect disappeared. Her inner sense screamed at her that this altar was deviant and _evil_.

Acting purely on instinct, she raised her gun and emptied a full clip at the altar, trying to destroy it. However all her bullets did nothing. The report of the gun was so loud in the small room that it pierced through her head and finally forced Miss Parker to drop to the ground in agony.

Panting, she finally managed to open her watering eyes. Her view from the floor made the room look bigger. Just when she thought she could stand up she suddenly felt vertigo sweep through her again. Disjointed memories dropped into her mind and reassembled like uniting puzzle pieces.

Miss Parker remembered.

The boy had screamed loudly just once when Mr. Raines had twisted his arm. Then he’d gone quiet and brought forth his spirit animal. Raines had started whispering into Bobby’s ear and he’d given in, soon nodding his head and smiling disturbingly - Mr. Lyle’s smile.

After a few minutes, Raines stepped away and Bobby forced his spirit animal, a strange-looking fish, to appear on the black altar. She remembered her father taking to Raines, saying that using the ritual from the scrolls had supposedly been much more efficient than this. Raines had replied that he needed more latent Sentinels and Guides to experiment on if they wanted to make Project Lava commercially viable.

Then the spirit animal on the altar had started to burn. There hadn’t been any flames, but the fish’s skin had crisped and blackened, slowly sloughing off to dissolve into the volcanic stone altar as they watched. Lyle had flinched only once, but after that he seemed to almost enjoy the show.

Falling to her knees on the floor, her younger self had empathically felt the spirit animal’s pain and terror as if they were her own. She hadn’t let herself scream out loud. She didn’t want anyone turning their attention on her. However, inside her mind she’d been screaming hysterically. She’d been screaming at something to hide.

No, not something, she forced her adult self to acknowledge, some _one_. In that room, she’d realized that her lifelong imaginary friend Hattie, named after the female pharaoh Hatshepsut, was actually real. Not only that, but that they were going to torture Hattie to death on that altar. So she’d pushed all her willpower into making Hattie disappear. Some bright light deep inside her soul had gone dark and stayed dark ever since, but it had worked.

They’d tried to force her to bring her spirit animal out ‘for her own good,’ but she’d cycled between whiny, confused, and scared until they finally gave up. Then Mr. Raines had pulled out a needle and stuck her with it, drugging her into unconsciousness. Everything had been foggy when she woke up, until she’d chalked it all up to a nightmare and forgotten it. When Hattie stopped appearing, she’d just told herself that losing imaginary friends was part of growing up.

But now that she remembered, she had to wonder. _Had Hattie been a spirit animal? Could a daughter of the Centre really be a Sentinel?_

Standing up, Miss Parker dusted herself off, reloaded her gun, and left the room and its creepy memories behind. She couldn’t be gifted, she told herself. After all, if she was, wouldn’t the Centre have figured it out over the years? Wouldn’t someone in all her world travels have fingered her as latent? They had genetic tests for that, not to mention that powerful Sentinels and Guides could sense potential in others. Maybe Hattie really had been imaginary after all.

Disturbed and absorbed in her thoughts, she barely saw Lyle and Raines in time as they came out of a doorway down the hall. Luckily they paused to talk beneath a bare lightbulb, allowing her to duck back into the shadows of an empty room. She rolled her shoulders, preparing herself to brazen it out if necessary, but they hadn’t seen her.

The sound of Mr. Raines’ oxygen tank hissed loud and unpleasant in the hallway. “With the resurgence of Guides and Sentinels showing no signs of letting up, I have several clients getting impatient for Project Lava. Construction down here should be far enough along in a few weeks to start some preliminary trials.” He took a raspy breath. “Do you have subjects for me to test it on yet? We need to know if we can replicate the effects outside of the Parker bloodline.” 

Producing that smarmy smile she hated so much, Mr. Lyle nodded. “I’ve got eyes on three teens recently Online. The sweepers can snatch them up whenever we’re ready. The control also seems to be showing symptoms. If we’re going to get this up and running quickly, we have to have him. We might want to secure him soon, in case his security gets beefed up again.”

Mr. Raines turned and began making his way back to the exit. “After recent events, our power is precarious. Project Lava might be the only thing big enough to cement our control and keep the Triumvirate off our back. Miss Parker still has allies and there are those in the tower and abroad who’d prefer to shut down our more esoteric Projects. We need to get rid of her if we can. Stay alert, Mr. Lyle.”

“Always,” he answered with an easy smile, following Raines out.

Seething, Miss Parker waited for them to disappear. What she wouldn’t give to get rid of those two cockroaches, but no matter. She was used to watching her back. However, she didn’t like the sound of their plan. She couldn’t just stand by and let them kidnap innocent children to experiment on, especially not with the plan to murder their spirit animals. Too many children had already been destroyed by this place. There was only so much filth her soul could endure before she began to loathe herself as much as she loathed this place.

By the time she got back upstairs, she had a raging headache. Ducking into the restroom, she took off her jacket and washed off as much of the filth of SL-27 as she could from her skin. Already a rash was forming on her forearms. The cool water felt good. She wished she could rinse off her mind as easily. Her memories made her feel unclean. Returning to her office, she popped a couple of aspirin. Then she got on her phone and ordered Sydney and Broots up to her office.

After filling them in on her returned memories and the overheard conversation, she asked what else they’d discovered. Frowning, Sydney admitted, “I haven’t been able to find out anything new about the Centre, but I did run down some interesting facts. For the past two decades, the nearby Sentinel-Guide Center in Dover has been the most active SG Center in the entire world. They’ve done numerous studies, but come to no conclusions on why Dover hasn’t declined like other areas around the world.”

“How is that relevant? SG Centers aren’t declining anymore with all of the people coming Online,” Miss Parker asked with a wave of her hand.

Sydney shrugged. “I’m not sure yet, but Dover has become famous for producing a disproportionate number of strong Sentinels, so many that not all could find a perfect Guide to bond with. Many of the people coming Online now are Guides. They’ve been flocking to Dover trying to find a Sentinel to bond with, which has brought other Sentinels in to visit too. Several SG conventions, such as those involved with the police, medical, or legal fields, have moved to Dover this year. They all want a bondmate to help permanently shield the empathic pressure on the Guides and the sensory spikes of the Sentinels. Dover hotels have been booked solid for weeks with almost sold-out reservations going as far out as nine more months. It is possible that the children Lyle is watching are from out of town and staying at one of the hotels.”

“Just how many kids are registered at the Dover SG Center for training right now?” Miss Parker asked.

“Those records are kept secret,” Sydney answered with frustration.

“I, um, I think there’s about nine in the kids class right now,” Broots stuttered, not meeting their eyes.

Miss Parker leaned forward demandingly, “And just how do you know that, Broots?”

Compressing his lips, Broots looked around nervously before taking a deep breath. “When I ended up in the hospital a few weeks ago, my daughter Debbie came in, saw me covered in blood, and, well, went into a feral Sentinel episode,” Broots trailed off unhappily.

“What happened to Debbie?” Miss Parker blinked incredulously, then frowned. “You should have told us.”

Broots shrugged and looked away. “I know this place hates her kind. That’s why I got hurt. However, I’m her father. I had to protect her. Besides, the security guard sedated Debbie and shipped us both off to the Dover SG Center. Debbie’s a Sentinel now, a rare female one. I used my two weeks to get her some training. Since she’s so young, her senses aren’t as strong and her levels are easier to control. The teachers at the SG Center are pretty great, though the head director, Taylor, is a little too pleased with the power implications of all of the new people, if you know what I mean. He’s an unbonded Guide, despite all of the Sentinels in the place. I think it’s made him a bit bitter, especially because I got the sense that he’s only has the job because his parents were the last Alpha Prime pair before they died. Anyways, he reminded me uncomfortably of some of the people here. Neither of us liked him.”

“Thank you for trusting us, Broots,” Sydney said. “If there’s anything we can do to help Debbie, please let us know.”

Miss Parker tapped her nails on her desk. “Would it be worthwhile to try and warn the parents? We don’t have enough trustworthy people to guard all of them. Speaking of which, Broots, maybe you and Debbie should move in with me for a while so I can protect you.”

“Th-thank you, Miss Parker,” Broots stammered, dropping his eyes with an embarrassed flush.

“We’d have to be careful warning them,” Sydney cautioned. “The Sentinels could easily identify us with their enhanced senses and might blame us if something goes wrong with the children. We don’t want the wrath of the SG Center focused on us. They also might not take the words of a stranger seriously until it’s too late.”

“As to that,” Broots said, “I think half the kids in there already know Miss Parker. I bet they’d trust her.”

“You’ve got to be joking,” Miss Parker said incredulously. “I don’t do kids.”

“Well, yeah,” Broots conceded the obvious, “but I recognized a bunch of them from when you make me run your errands. Your 18 year old barista was in Debbie’s group, along with your dry cleaner’s son. I think I also recognized the twin Guides as waitresses from our favorite sushi place by the airport, the one with the cool fishtank.”

Just then, the phone rang. Shaking her head at the strange coincidence, Miss Parker picked it up. “What?”

“Did you know that your little brother’s nanny likes to eat her lunch with Mr. Lyle?” Jarod asked darkly.

Miss Parker swore. “Are you sure it’s really Sharon?” she growled.

“The pictures of him kissing her neck are very convincing,” Jarod drawled. “She’s probably just a dupe for Lyle, but I thought you should know.”

“She’s fired,” Miss Parker bit out. “She’s so fired that the only job she’s getting after this is on the street corner of 7th and Broadway.”

Hanging up on Jarod, she immediately called the house phone, but no one picked up. Sharon the nanny’s phone also went straight to voicemail. Disconnecting, she dialed Sam’s phone number. The bodyguard’s finally picked up on the third ring. “Yes,” he said cautiously.

“Where’s my brother?” Miss Parker snapped.

“I’m sorry, Miss Parker. I was just about to call you. We’re at the hospital,” Sam spilled in a rush.

“Why?” she demanded, jumping up from her desk and grabbing her purse, an extra clip for her gun, and her coat.

“Gabriel passed out at the playground and wouldn’t wake up,” Sam said. “Sharon wanted to take him to the Centre infirmary, but the local ER was closer. I had to argue with her about it and drive, so this is the first chance I’ve had to talk. I’m sorry I couldn’t call you sooner. The doctors are with him now.”

“I’m coming. Stay with him,” she barked, hanging up the phone and running out the door.

“What happened,” Sydney demanded as he and Broots followed.

“Gabe’s in the ER,” she snapped, darting down the hall and into the elevator. Sydney followed as the doors started to close. Broots dived in just in time, but got his jacket stuck in the doors as the elevator dropped. It almost choked him around the neck before he wrenched it free. Miss Parker was too worried to give that the scornful look it deserved.

They all piled into her car. Not bothering with a seatbelt, she revved the engine and burned rubber out of the parking garage. She made the normally twenty minute drive to the ER in eight. Broots looked green when they arrived, but managed to keep from puking as he stumbled from the car.

Striding into the ER, Miss Parker went up to the desk and slapped down her hand authoritatively. “Gabriel Parker, unconscious child,” she demanded.

“Oh, um, room 26C,” stuttered the wide-eyed boy manning the desk. Then he got a panicked look on his face as she immediately turned and strode away. “But wait! Ma’am! I need you to sign in and show me ID and stuff! Ma’am!”

“I’ll take care of that,” she heard Sydney say smoothly as she marched down the hall with her leather coat flapping.

Seeing number 26 up ahead, she reached out and ripped back the curtain from cubicle C. Gabriel sat on the bed rubbing his eyes with a pale-faced Sharon sitting next to him. Sam stood between them and the hall protectively, but backed off when he recognized her.

“I told you it was my sister,” Gabriel said with annoyance. “My smell and taste might not be there yet, but I can hear her just fine.” Sharon the nanny flinched.

“What’s going on,” Parker demanded, coming forward and smoothing the hair out of Gabriel’s eyes. “I heard you passed out, kid.”

“I’ve been trying to hide it, but I guess the cat’s truly out of the bag now. That’s what they say on TV, right?” Gabriel sighed, dropping his hands to his lap. “I’m a Sentinel,” his chin trembled as he looked into her shocked face. “Ever since Daddy died, my sight and hearing have been really weird. The doctor said I looked too closely at the heat on the pavement and zoned, like those people coming Online in the news. I’m sorry.” Tears started dripping down his cheeks. “I don’t wanna be a Sentinel, but I can’t help it. Please don’t hate me. Don’t let Mr. Lyle cut me up.”

“What?” Miss Parker and Sharon said in unison, just as Sydney and Broots stepped into the room. Miss Parker felt something in her mind snap.

“Where would you even hear something like that?” Sharon asked in disbelief before Miss Parker could get a word in. She placed her hand on Gabe’s leg but he pulled it away and huddled into himself.

“I forgot my backpack. I didn’t wanna get in trouble, so I snuck back to get it and I saw you kiss Lyle,” Gabriel confronted his nanny. “Then I hid. After you left he called and told someone that I’m a control and he can’t wait to cut me up. You like him best, so that must mean you knew and you hate me now,” Gabriel put his small head into his hands and started sobbing heartbreakingly.

Sharon’s face went white and she stumbled off the bed and fell against the wall. “No, no, I’m so sorry,” she whispered as tears began dripping down her face, “So so sorry, Gabriel. It’s not true.”

Miss Parker curled her lip in disgust at the woman who’d betrayed her brother. She turned sympathetically to the crying boy on the bed. Unsure of the best thing to do, Miss Parker looked back at Sydney and Broots in the doorway, people with actual childcare experience.

Unfortunately, they were no help. Broots looked on the verge of tears himself as he stared at Gabriel’s pitiful huddle, but didn't move forward. Sydney simply met her eyes and then tipped his head encouragingly towards her brother.

Snapping at the boy to stop crying and man up probably wouldn’t work. It was what her father had done with her, but she didn’t want to be like her father. Not anymore. She wanted to be a woman like her mother.

Pushing down on her anger at stupid Sharon, who was guilty of being a gullible idiot but not of maliciousness as evidenced by the remorse and guilt poured off of her in annoying waves, Miss Parker sat down on the edge of the bed. Reaching out awkwardly, she rubbed her little brother's back in what she hoped was a soothing manner. Soon her strokes began to feel more comfortable and his crying slowed down. Gabriel looked up with vulnerable eyes and she felt something behind her breast uncoil from the dark and swim towards the surface.

"Will you keep me safe?" he sniffled.

"You're my family. They'll have to get through me before they even touch a hair on your head. No one's going to hurt you. Anyone tries, I'll turn them into swiss cheese with my gun. You're mine to protect," she vowed with deadly seriousness.

"O-okay," Gabriel wiped his runny nose with the back of his hand. "I don't like swiss cheese anyways, but… does that mean you love me?"

Miss Parker could feel the desperate hope hammering through his little body. His racing heartbeat pounded in her ears. She sighed in exasperation. "Of course I do, you pushy little gremlin."

"Miss Parker," Sydney scolded in disapproval, but Gabriel just grinned in delight.

"I love you too, sis," he declared, throwing his moist arms around her neck and giving her a tight hug. "Can I stay with you forever? Please?"

Despite the gross things currently soaking into her shoulder and hair, she hugged him back fiercely. The warmth of his body, the smell of his banana-scented shampoo, and the absolute trust he had in her to take care of him struck Miss Parker to her core. She did love him. _She did._

Everything shifted and realigned. She didn’t become something different, she just became more fundamentally herself than she’d ever allowed herself to be before. It felt right.

"Okay," she answered shakily.

Leaning back, he looked up at her with wide eyes. "Really?"

"From now on we’re in this together. I'll do my best or die trying," she promised, trying not to think about how many good people had gone up against the Centre and still died, because that is what it could come to. Gabriel was an asset for Lyle and Raines. They wouldn't let him go so easily. She couldn't just drop him off somewhere and hope for the best either. If she wanted to protect him, she was going to have to leave the Centre and protect him personally.

"Jarod's going to have a field day complete with spoon races and dunking booths when he hears this," she mumbled to herself.

"Who's Jarod?" Gabriel asked. "And you can't die. You're Miss Parker, my big sister and the most powerful and invincible woman in the world. You’re tougher than even Wonder Woman."

Suddenly his face fell. He turned to look at his Nanny. "Sharon doesn’t like you. I can tell now that my senses are getting sharper as a Sentinel. She smells afraid of you."

Stumbling forward, Sharon dropped to her knees next to the bed. "That’s because I made a mistake. It’s not your sister’s fault, it’s mine. I'm so sorry, Gabriel. I was lonely and thought Lyle liked me, but you are more important than he’ll ever be. I forgot that for a bit. I love you. I'm so sorry he scared you." She placed her hand on the bed palm up and, after a moment of consideration, Gabriel took it and squeezed. She smiled gratefully.

If Miss Parker hadn't felt the sincerity of Sharon's emotions with her inner sense, she never would have let her get close enough to touch Gabriel. Kissing the back of his hand, Sharon released him and stood up. Squaring her shoulders, she turned to Miss Parker and swallowed hard.

"I need to tell you something else. When we got to the hospital, I called Mr. Lyle to tell him that Gabriel had gone into a zone and was probably coming Online as a Sentinel," she admitted.

"You did what?!" Miss Parker snapped, her opinion nosediving again. If her brother hadn’t been sitting in her lap she would have pointed her gun at the woman and pulled the trigger. She still might.

"Mr. Lyle said to let him know immediately if anything happened to Gabriel. I thought he wanted to know because he cared, but now I realize that I've been ignoring the signs that he was using me to get close to Gabriel. I'm sorry. He’s probably already on his way." Sharon folded her arms around herself tightly and looked away in shame.

Broots, who was fidgeting over by the window, suddenly interrupted. "Uh, guys? Two familiar black SUVs just pulled up to the curb. I think Lyle and the sweepers are here."

Turning to look, Miss Parker focused and could suddenly hear Lyle's voice. "Make sure you get the Parker boy. Everyone else is expendable. If my sister's here, feel free to shoot her, but make sure it's fatal. We don't want the hospital patching Miss Parker up enough to come back and cause us more trouble."

Snapping her focus back to the room, she saw the faint impression of red arms from the corner of her eyes, but didn't have time to investigate it when a direct look showed nothing. "We're leaving," Miss Parker ordered, picking Gabriel up off the bed and shoving him at Broots so she could draw her gun. She saw Sydney's mouth moving, but for a moment she couldn't hear anything. Then the volume bumped back up to almost too loud before dropping back to normal. Sharon picked up a bag and shoved it into Sydney's arms.

"I'll try to delay them, say that he's in x-ray or something so you can get away," Sharon insisted.

"It's not safe," Sydney denied, looking to Miss Parker for support. She didn't want Sharon to get killed, but she also didn't trust her to come with them.

Sharon met her eyes and smiled bitterly. "It's okay. They don't care about me. I'll delay them for as long as possible and then act confused and scared when he turns up missing. They'll be too busy chasing after you to care about me."

"But Sharon," Gabriel said tearfully from Broots's arms.

"Hush," she said firmly, sweeping forward to give him a quick hug and kiss. "I've wanted to go on a vacation anyways. I'll always love you, but it's time to go live with your sister now. When things die down, come and visit me. My sister in Virginia Beach will know how to reach me," she met Miss Parkers eyes beseechingly and Miss Parker nodded begrudgingly in agreement.

"I love you too, Sharon," Gabriel sniffled, laying his head down on Broots's shoulder. Old skills came back as Broots tucked the little boy closer into his chest.

"Good luck," Miss Parker said as she herded everyone into the hall, "and thanks."

Then she heard the hunters getting closer. "Sam, cover our six. I'll take point, then Broots and Gabe, then Syd. Go!"

They rushed out into the hallway and around the corner, dodging nurses and hospital equipment. Miss Parker felt hypersensitive to every sound and movement. They pounded down a staircase and out a side door. Everything went perfectly until they reached the car.

Then Miss Parker heard the sound of shattering glass as someone fired on them through a window. "Down! Get in the car!" she snapped as she and Sam returned fire.

Luckily a large tree partially obscured their car from the men firing out the window. Nevertheless, a bullet grazed her arm, leaving a fiery line of pain. Broots, Gabe, and Sydney ducked into the backseat. Then Sam grunted painfully, though he didn't slow his fire, managing to knock one of the three men back from the window. Miss Parker paused for a second, focused on the window, and let her sight zoom. Then she squeezed off two shots, hitting one man in the shoulder and the other in the neck. Both dropped out of view.

In the lull, she and Sam dove into the car. Miss Parker pulled out with a screech, fishtailing the car for a second before regaining control and racing off. "Sam, how badly are you wounded?" she asked, the smell of his blood mixing with her own pungent in the closed car.

"Sorry, Miss Parker. I'll be fine. The bullet went straight through the edge of my thigh," he wiggled on the seat, pulling a bandage out of the glove box and knotting it around his leg with a pained hiss. "What about you?"

"Just a graze," she replied. "It’s not even bleeding badly. We'll take care of it later." Then she took a sharp turn and wove through a quiet neighborhood at a disquieting speed for her passengers. Someone squeaked, though it could have been Broots just as much as her little brother.

Scenarios raced through Miss Parker’s mind. "Alright, Gentlemen, time to decide. Gabe and I are getting out of Dodge and we’re not coming back. Are you with us or should I leave you on the side of the road?"

"Are you really leaving the Centre this time?" Sydney asked skeptically.

Miss Parker tossed her hair back and swerved to pass a slower moving car. "Yeah," she said softly before clearing her throat and speaking more confidently. "I'd have preferred to tender my resignation with a note written in Lyle's blood while I used Raines's corpse as a desk, but we can't have everything.  They need Gabriel as the control for Project Lava. I have to protect my brother. He comes first."

"My Debbie's at risk as a Sentinel now too," Broots said. "I won't stay at the Centre without you, Miss Parker. Count us in."

"I'm your man, Miss Parker. You know that," Sam said loyally.

"Well, Syd? What about you?" she asked, trying not to hold her breath. It would hurt if he said no, but she knew he had multiple projects and patients also taking up his time and priorities.

Gravel in his voice, Sydney cleared his throat before slowly pronouncing, “I would be honored to follow you, Miss Parker, wherever you may lead."

Blinking back unexpected tears of relief, Miss Parker checked behind her shoulder for a tail. Not finding any, she turned onto the highway. "We'll grab Debbie first. Then we'll hit up one of my emergency drops to get some extra weapons and switch cars. You doing okay, kiddo?" she raised her voice to ask.

"I'm fine, but next time can I have a gun too?" Gabriel asked with enthusiasm. "I'm wanna be a superhero like Batman."

"Batman doesn't use guns," Miss Parker said repressively, one of the few things she remembered about Batman from one of her college boyfriends.

"Oh yeah," he said grumpily.

“Maybe a Taser,” she conceded, trying to cheer him up. Broots gave her an appalled look and then distracted the boy with some nerdtastick conversation about all of the gadgets that superheroes used. If there was a lasso of truth, she’d love to get it on a few people at the Centre. It would certainly make finding her missing pieces easier.

That night, Miss Parker sat in the bathtub of their fancy hotel suite. They may be on the run, but that didn’t mean they had to live in squalor. Money could buy silence pretty efficiently if you knew the right people to pay off and Miss Parker had made sure she knew a long time ago.

Everyone was sleeping but Sam, who'd taken guard duty. If she concentrated, she could hear each of their heartbeats and feel everyone’s exhaustion and stress. Mundane people couldn’t do that, but she was no longer quite mundane.

Taking a deep breath, Miss Parker sank her head beneath the water and closed her eyes. Her bullet graze stung sharply, but it didn’t matter. For just a moment, she needed the water to mute her senses. Plus, crying didn't count underwater where tears immediately disappeared, right?

_I'm a Sentinel_ , she whispered in her mind, finally acknowledging the truth. _I’ve always been a Sentinel…. Well, shit._

Sitting up abruptly, she wiped water off her face and looked straight at the shadowed faux-marble tile under the sink. Blowing out her breath, she called upon old lessons to center herself. "I know you're there. You can stop hiding," she coaxed gently.

The shadows rippled and suddenly a gigantic red octopus appeared. "Oh,” she breathed, something bright bubbling up from her belly. “Hello, Hatshepsut. I've missed you." Tentacles slid over her shoulders and curled into her hair playfully.

Patting them fondly, Miss Parker looked off into the distance. "We'll hide out for a while to figure this Sentinel stuff out and make plans. Then we'll attack when they least expect it and destroy them utterly. Right, Hattie?" Her spirit animal clacked her sharp beak approvingly and then pulled down a heated towel and held it out helpfully. Feeling better, Miss Parker let herself smile.

After drying off and getting dressed, she checked with Sam. Despite his wound and the stress of the day, he looked alert. Next she looked in on Gabriel and Debbie’s innocently sleeping faces. Then she forced herself to try and get some sleep.

As soon as she drifted off, she found herself dreaming of the dojo in Japan again. "Are you freaking kidding me?" she sighed in exasperation as Kamiya-Sensei tossed her a shinai. "If I have to remember Japan, why can't I be in bed trying to replicate old woodcuts with Tommy Tanaka instead of in here with you? I don't even like you."

Miss Parker barely dodged a vicious swipe at her shoulder. Kamiya-Sensei smirked and continued her attack. "Don't be silly. I'm very likable," the Japanese woman grunted when Miss Parker's shinai hit her elbow.

Before Miss Parker could celebrate too much, her opponent twisted and whacked her hard on the thigh. "How does it feel to be the Mother of Sentinels?" Kamiya-Sensei asked as Miss Parker limped back for a second. She tried lunging forward, but she missed. They exchanged a flurry of blows.

"I don't even know what that means," Miss Parker snapped. "I hate kids. Why don't we throw our swords down and fight hand-to-hand?"

Kamiya-Sensei smirked. "I'm not stupid. You'd beat me at hand-to-hand. I'll keep my sword, thanks." She stepped back for a moment and lowered her shinai, letting Miss Parker catch her breath. "Your ancestors would be proud of you, you know. You're going to be a great Sentinel mother. You've done a lot already without even consciously realizing it. All those kids would thank you if they knew. Now you're awake and choosing to leave the Centre to raise Gabriel. Right now, Parker women are watching from the other side, cheering you on."

"You mean they're not all hateful psychopaths? How comforting," Miss Parker retorted sarcastically.

Kamiya-Sensei bit back a laugh. "Not all of them. You’re right that most of the Parkers are crazy, but not all. I’ve met a few especially good ones.” Then her smile faded and she became serious. “However, as the Mother of Sentinels, you can finally restore the balance and regain your family honor. You have the most ancient Sentinel bloodline in the world. You can both hide yourself and bring out the gift in others. They'll probably call you an Alpha Sentinel Prime, since you have all five senses plus empathy, but that's a gross underestimation of your talents. They don't have a word for what you are.”

Dazed at the influx of information, Miss Parker blinked hard.

Smiling wryly, Kamiya-Sensei added, “Your senses are fine for now, you have more stubbornness than a mule, but it really is in your best interest to bond with your Guide as soon as possible. Otherwise your fluctuating senses will eventually drive you into either a coma or insanity."

Miss Parker clenched her teeth and shook her head. "I'm not binding myself to some stranger. Don’t underestimate me. I'm sure I'll manage fine."

Giving her an amused look, Kamiya-Sensei said, "Stop being stupid. Your Guide isn’t a stranger. You've been a hair away from Online for decades. Your spirit animal kept you both camouflaged and safe from detection, but that hasn't kept you from feeling the pull of your Guide. Whose voice pulls you from the brink? Whose touch lingers on your skin for days?”

The sound of her breathing seemed loud in the dojo. Then Miss Parker spoke. "I'm going to shoot him."

"Oh, you finally figured it out?" Kamiya-Sensei smirked.

"Of course it's Jarod," Miss Parker snorted in disgust. "I'm definitely going to shoot him, though if I ever see you in person again, I'm going to shoot you too."

"Keep on dreaming." Tossing the tail of her long black hair behind her shoulder, Kamiya-Sensei winked, "And if you get your hands on him, I bet you'll have more pressing urges than injuring him, unless it involves your nails clawing down his bare back while you initiate a bond and give him a million reasons to never run away from you again."

Miss Parker wanted to snap back something scathing, but the images the words conjured up completely stole her breath. She would love to scratch lines up and down Jarod's back. She'd seen enough of it while chasing him. Just speaking to Jarod on the phone was more intimacy than she'd shared with most of her lovers. Making love to him would be explosive. However, being consumed by that fire had always scared her a little. Everyone she’d ever cared about left. What if he did too?

Yet if given the chance, she’d make a meal out of her pretender, one luscious bite at a time. She'd hated all of those other women he'd been with while on the run, but at the same time she smugly realized that none of them would ever match up to her. Jarod knew that too. That's why he never stopped calling.

And now that she'd allowed her mind to go there, the technicolor images flourished in her mind like weeds, pictures of their naked bodies tangled together, sweaty and laughing from hours of crazily athletic sex, followed by gentle and slow undulations and whispered confessions. Lovemaking with him would be exciting, sweet, addicting, and perfect. He'd never bore her and never betray her.

For the first time in her life she'd be naked both emotionally and physically. Jarod knew everything about her and still wanted her. There would be no hiding with him. She wanted Jarod and his love. She'd known for a very long time that he should belong to her, but until this moment, she'd managed to hide from the fact that she should belong to him. It scared her and yet she wanted it.

Miss Parker couldn't hide from the truth anymore and it was all Kamiya-Sensei’s fault. "I hate you," she said tiredly. "I think you’re a Guide, but I don’t even care. I'm shooting you and burning this dojo down. Just wait."

"It won't do you much good, just ask Tommy Tanaka, but good luck," Kamiya-Sensei chirped pleasantly with an evil grin. Then she vanished and Miss Parker woke up.

The clock said 5:00 AM. That meant 6:00 PM in Japan. Picking up her phone, Miss Parker scrolled through her contacts until she found Tommy Tanaka’s personal line.

It rang four times before picking up. “Moshi moshi?”

“Tommy, it’s Miss Parker,” she said fondly, plumping up the pillow behind her back. “I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

“Not at all. To what do I owe the pleasure of your voice?” he asked flirtatiously.

“This is probably going to sound silly, but I keep having this recurring dream about that little dojo I used to wait for you at, the one run by the Wakuda family. Do you remember it?” She twisted the sheet around her fingers.

“Of course, it’s still there even now. Most of my fond memories involve helping you clean up in the shower after your lessons, but why do you ask?”  Tommy said warmly.

“I keep thinking about Kamiya-Sensei, the really annoying female instructor that taught there, the one with the star-shaped scar. I keep dreaming about conversations we never actually had when I used to spar with her. I was wondering if you knew anything about her or could get me some contact information for her,” Miss Parker asked, not bothering to mention her intention to do the woman bodily harm. “I think I need to talk to her again.”

“Who?” he asked in a spooked voice.

“Kamiya-Sensei,” she repeated. “I think she’s a Guide if that helps.” Then she described the woman’s appearance in more detail, though the striking star-shaped scar should really be enough.

“Are you sure you sparred with this woman?” he asked hesitantly.

Annoyed, Miss Parker sighed. “Of course I’m sure.”

Tommy gave a thoughtful hum. “Then it might interest you to know that there are no female instructors at the Wakuda Dojo. The daughter of the family head practiced for a time, but she was but a child when you were here, has attended an exclusive boarding school since the age of eleven, and bears no distinctive scars. She did come Online as a Guide, but only recently. She’s visiting friends in America right now.”

“However, the dojo used to belong to the Kamiya family. Two generations ago, a Wakuda married into their family, took over their dojo, and merged the two fighting styles under his name. There’s actually only been one female sensei in the dojo’s history. She was a famous and venerated teacher and Guide, one of the greatest before those gifts began fleeing our shores. Her husband was also a famous Sentinel assassin during the Bakumatsu, Kamiya Kenshin. He took her family name upon marriage.”

“Wait,” she swallowed. “Wasn’t the Bakumatsu in, like, the mid to late 1800s?”

“Yes,” Tommy said solemnly. “Kamiya Kaoru-Sensei died over 100 years ago. If her ghost appeared to you, then I recommend you listen carefully to what she has to say.”

“How is that even possible? A ghost?” her voice cracked on the question.

“We’ve lost much knowledge on the astral plane and on what a powerful Guide could do there,” he answered gently. “Yet I suspect that the barriers between times and places are much more gossamer there than they are for those of us here. If Kamiya-Sensei has reached beyond the grave to tell you something, I would listen, Parker.”

Thanking Tommy for his time, she hung up the phone with shaking fingers. Hattie appeared on the bed to curl around her comfortingly. She’d forgotten how good an eight-armed hug could feel. “I guess I have to start taking this Mother of Sentinel stuff seriously, huh?” she asked her spirit animal. Rubbing her lips, she sighed. “I really wish I still smoked.”

0-0-0

“How do you do that?” Debbie asked a couple of weeks later.

“Do what?” Miss Parker replied, adjusting the strap of her scarlet bikini as she continued to practice zooming her sight and smell up and down simultaneously from her lounge chair. Guides made being a Sentinel easier, but they weren’t mandatory. After two weeks of constant practice, she felt relatively confident that she understood her senses.

Miss Parker refused to be a desperate beggar the next time she met Jarod. As always, she intended to meet him from a position of strength. He had a bad habit of knocking her down off her high horse, but there’d been a few times when she’d come out on top. Smirking inwardly, she admitted that she had every intention of topping him the next time they met.

Remembering the two children nearby, she forced her mind away from thoughts of Jarod. The last thing she wanted was one of them asking why her scent had just changed. Someone else could have that talk with them. She refused.

Gabriel sat cross-legged by her feet, practicing his sight by examining a handful of colorful marbles. Their spirit animals frolicked in the nearby pool. Hattie kept ambushing Debbie’s water moccasin, much to the snake’s annoyance and Gabe’s little shark’s amusement.

“You feel like a crazy powerful Sentinel when we’re practicing, but the rest of the time you feel just like a regular person,” Debbie explained. 

“Really? Interesting,” Miss Parker sat up. “Let me try something.” She turned to the pool. “Hattie, camouflage yourself for me,” she ordered. The giant octopus waved a tentacle, then her skin mottled to match the blue tile of the pool before disappearing completely.

“That’s awesome!” Gabriel enthused.

“How do I feel now?” Miss Parker asked with a smile for her brother.

“Mundane again,” Debbie said, impressed. “Right, Gabe?”

Only Miss Parker and now Debbie were allowed to shorten his name to Gabe. Everyone else had to use Gabriel or face the little boy’s temper. “I think so,” he said after a short hesitation. “It’s still hard for me to tell.”

Reaching out, Miss Parker tugged gently on his hair. She was getting better at this kids thing, at least with Gabe and Debbie. “You’re way younger than most Sentinels starting to come online. Don’t worry about it. Your body is taking it slow to protect you and rightly so. This way you won’t zone very easily. By the time you’re twenty, you’ll be doing things that’ll make the Hulk green with envy.”

“Um, Miss Parker? The Hulk is always green, but that’s with anger,” Debbie corrected.

Miss Parker rolled her eyes while Gabe dissolved into giggles. “You are a bigger nerd than your father,” Miss Parker said. Debbie just smiled proudly.

A large raven flew overhead and landed next to the pool, barely sparing them a glance before peering into the water inquisitively. “He’s big!” Gabe enthused, dropping his handful of marbles as he waved his arms in excitement. The marbles clattered onto the ground and then scattered across the pavement in shining, colorful disarray. Flapping his wings, the startled raven disappeared. Miss Parker made the mistake of focusing on his reflection in the rolling marbles. She focused too intently and fell into the layers of moving glass.

When she came back to herself, she found her hands being held by a preschooler on one side and a teenager on the other. They were talking quietly together. Blinking painfully dry eyes, Miss Parker cleared her throat. “What happened?”

“You zoned,” Debbie said, subdued. “You have to be careful focusing too hard until you bond with a Guide, otherwise you can fall into a sensory fugue. I told you that,” she scolded, failing to hide the fear beneath her words.

“We couldn’t wake you up,” Gabe said, squeezing her fingers and laying his head on her arm. “Sorry about the marbles.”

“I’m sorry too,” Miss Parker said, shaken at how easily she’d fallen.

Then a loud gurgle from Debbie’s stomach broke the mood. “What? I’m hungry,” Debbie said defensively.

“I think we’re done with the pool. Let’s go inside and eat a snack,” Miss Parker said, pushing the kids off her lounger.

“Cereal!” Gabe cried.

Debbie wrinkled her nose. “Ugh, no. How about yogurt and fruit?”

Then all three of them cocked their heads at the sound of an unfamiliar car coming up the private lane to their secluded cabin. The men had gone into town and wouldn’t be back for hours. The three Sentinels were alone.

In one seamless move, Miss Parker came to her feet with a gun cocked and pointed in her hand. She gestured sharply. Just like they’d practiced, Debbie took Gabe’s hand and the two of them bunched up behind Miss Parker’s back.

“You know where the emergency bag is in the woods,” Miss Parker said quietly. “If I give the signal, start running. I’ll be right behind you.” She pointed her gun at the corner of the house by the driveway and tried to ignore the stench of fear rising from her charges.

“I only hear one heartbeat,” Debbie said hesitantly. The car stopped and footsteps crunched onto the driveway.

Miss Parker took in a deep breath. A familiar and enticing musk tickled her nose. She relaxed and cursed softly at the same time, not lowering her gun.  When had she taken the time to memorize his scent?

Seconds later, an unfairly handsome man strode around the corner of the house, the afternoon sun gilding the tips of his dark hair.  He stopped at the threatening lift of her gun, but the momentary widening of his eyes focused more on her bikini-clad body than on the gun in her hand. He swallowed hard and jerked his eyes back up to her face. Raising a brow, she smirked to let him know that she’d noticed.

Embarrassment graced his face for a second, along with a strange flash of disappointment. Had he been hoping to find an Online Sentinel when he saw her? Then a smile creased his eyes until it took over his face with a grin. He shrugged. “I’m used to being greeted by your pointed gun, but the itsy-bitsy red bikini is new. Next time, wear yellow polka-dot and I’ll try to control myself.”

“And risk you bursting into that horrific song? You don’t have that much control. Not a chance, Jarod,” Miss Parker said.

“Are you going to put down your gun?” Jarod asked.

“Are you going to explain what you’re doing here?” she answered pleasantly, gun rocksteady as it pointed at his arm. She didn’t want to accidentally kill him, but a little flesh wound might be fun.

For her, at least.

“You left the Centre. I’ve been chasing after you ever since,” Jarod replied, eying her gun a bit more warily, as if sensing her weakening self-control.

“That’s a role-reversal,” she snorted.

“Though note how quickly I found you,” he replied cockily.

“More like how slowly, turtle-boy, considering I haven’t been running since the first few days,” she mocked back, a little stung and trying not to show it.

“Is he safe or not?” Gabe asked hesitantly from behind her back.

Debbie touched her back softly. “I think he’s a Guide,” she whispered wonderingly. Miss Parker already knew that, but having it said out loud by another Sentinel made her feel a spike of possessiveness.

“I’m here to help you,” Jarod said, brow crinkling in confusion, probably at feeling her strange emotions. She tried to stop broadcasting. Then he looked behind her and his eyes softened, “all of you. I’m also here to ask for help,” Jarod smiled mysteriously. “If you shoot me, you won’t know why.”

Dropping her gun, Miss Parker thumbed on the safety. “You’re safe from him,” Miss Parker told the kids. “Whether he’s safe from me remains to be seen. Everyone inside the house and get dressed. Jarod,” she turned to the pretender, “there’s food in the kitchen. Whip us up a snack.”

“Easy cheese and Poptarts?” he teased, laughing at her disgusted look.

The kids raced by them and into the house, letting the door slam behind them now that the danger was passed. “Never mind, you can wait in the living room while I shower,” Miss Parker said, allowing Jarod to fall into step by her side as she went up into the house. Walking by his side had always felt natural. Now she knew why.

“It’s good to see you. I was so worried when you disappeared. I-,” Jarod pressed his lips together on more confessions and looked away. She could sense a complex mishmash of stark fear and planned vengeance overlaid on relief and devotion, maybe even something that might be love. He opened the door and held it for her to go in first, avoiding her eyes.

She was tempted to try and scan him deeper, but she suspected that she couldn’t hide her status if she extended her senses too much. For some reason, she didn’t want Jarod knowing she was a Sentinel just yet. Feeling his love was overwhelming. She didn’t know if she could really believe it. Instead, she focused on the grim pleasure of knowing that if Lyle had taken her out, Jarod would have gotten revenge.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Miss Parker said simply, overcome by a swell of emotion before she could second-guess herself, only realizing after the fact that as a Guide, Jarod could actually feel the emotions behind her words too. The hitch in Jarod’s stride as he followed her into the house gave away his surprise. She could feel him gathering his courage to do or say something in response.

Feeling a spurt of panic, she staged a tactical retreat. She wasn’t ready. “Make yourself at home,” she said with forced lightness. Then she turned and walked up the stairs, though she couldn’t help but put some extra swing in her hips when she felt his hungry gaze.

Turning into her room, she shut the door and swallowed hard. If he’d just been hungry for her body, she might have given in and had some fun, but she could sense that he was just as if not even more hungry to possess her mind and heart. Jarod wanted _everything_.

In his soul lurked a dark, hungry, and viciously possessive man who would accept nothing less. Probably the only reason he’d encouraged her doomed romance with Thomas was because he’d somehow claimed Thomas as his first. She should’ve been angry about that, but after the initial surprise of Jarod’s involvement had worn off, she’d simply accepted.

But no matter how much she’d loved Thomas and reveled in his love, she’d never been completely honest with him. She’d only admitted her love out loud to his gravestone, and Jarod had coached her to that moment of catharsis on the phone.  Thomas had loved her, but he hadn’t known her.

Jarod would accept nothing less than complete honesty. Letting herself be that vulnerable, that _known_ , scared her. Frustrated, she stripped off her bikini with a snarl and stepped into the steaming shower, determined to focus on her shampoo and nothing else for the next five minutes.

When Miss Parker finally came downstairs, she found the kids in the kitchen with Jarod. “Now can we eat?!” Gabriel cried, throwing himself at Jarod’s leg beseechingly.

Laughing, Jarod placed two plates on the bar in front of the tv. The food had been arranged to look like a beachscape, complete with a blueberry yogurt ocean beneath a banana and kiwi palm tree inhabited by graham cracker monkeys. However, the beach was made out of a poptart.

“We don’t even have poptarts in the house,” Miss Parker said incredulously, shaking her head.

“I brought my own,” Jarod grinned.

“Of course you did,” she sighed. “Are those even safe for Sentinels to eat?”

“Yes!” both kids chorused with their mouths full.

Rolling her eyes, she turned on the tv. “Jarod and I are going to talk outside privately. I know you both could hear us, but I’m asking you not to.” She gave them both a hard stare until they agreed.

Then she picked up her plate, took off the poptart, and tossed it into the trash. Ignoring Jarod’s fake pout and twinkling eyes, she walked outside onto the deck and sat down. As Jarod settled in across from her, it took more effort than she expected to tear her eyes away from the interesting highlights and shadows wrinkling his shirt as it conformed to his sleekly muscled body. She had a burning desire to touch every inch of his golden skin beneath those black clothes, to lick down the center of his back and memorize the salty taste of his skin. Her instincts were clamoring for her to take him, bond him to her in the most primitive of ways. She wanted to chase him down and claim him, but not for the Centre, for herself.

Wrenching her thoughts away from dangerous territory, she took a vicious bite of banana and chewed. “Alright, so what sort of help do you need?”

“Did Debbie tell you about her classmates at the SG Training Center?” Jarod asked. At her nod, he continued. “Three of them went missing right after you took off with Gabriel, your barista and the twins from the Japanese Restaurant.”

Rage swelled in Miss Parker’s breast. “That bastard took my kids,” she seethed. “He’s dead.”

“Was it Raines and Lyle?” Jarod asked pointedly. “I haven’t been able to get much on them since you left. Angelo’s been kept busy and hasn’t had time to message me.”

“Yes, for Project Lava,” Miss Parker confirmed. She filled Jarod in on what she’d managed to find out. His horrified expression revealed that he hadn’t heard about the sacrificial altar on his own.

“Parker, I can’t rescue those kids from the Centre by myself,” Jarod admitted. “None of my simulations succeed without you. I’m not even sure the two of us together can do it, but I have to try. Help me. Please.”

Mind racing, she shook her head. “We might be able to sneak in the back with the help of Broots, Sydney, and Sam, but we’d never get all of us out again. Not with the updates and changes in security since my father died.”

“They’re just kids,” Jarod pleaded. “You know them personally. We can’t leave them to Raines and Lyle. You have to help them.”

“I know!” Miss Parker snapped back. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t help, I just said your plan is crap. You’re a genius. Stop getting all emotional over kidnapped children and think of a better plan.”

Jarod gritted his teeth. “Do you have any better suggestions, Ice Queen?” he retorted tightly.

Suddenly the door to the house opened and two heads peeked outside. “You’re getting a little loud and hard to ignore,” Debbie said with anxiety in her eyes. She must have heard the part about her friends being taken.

Seeing the two children behind Jarod’s shoulder sparked an idea. “Go eat some ice cream and turn the tv up,” Miss Parker ordered. Heaving an unhappy sigh, Debbie ushered Gabe back inside.

Miss Parker immediately turned back to Jarod. “So you’re a Guide now, right?”

“Oh, um, yes,” Jarod blinked and sat back at the abrupt change of subject.

For a second she mourned what she was about to do, destroying her family’s legacy and the only home she’d ever known. Then she reminded herself that her family legacy was horrifying and that she’d already decided to find a new home. For years she’d numbed herself to her hatred of the Centre and even sometimes of herself. No more.

“If we can’t sneak in, then maybe it’s time for a frontal assault,” Miss Parker suggested, committing herself. “The Centre didn’t just take kids, they took baby Sentinels and Guides. There’s no way they can weather that kind of exposure. There isn’t enough money in the world to make the SG Community forgive something like that and they have allies in very high places. The Triumvirate will cut them loose for sure.”

Jarod nodded, eyes alight with appreciation, as she continued explaining. “Let’s go to the Dover SG Center, gather up all of the Sentinels with fighting experience, get their legal team on the phone with the news and alphabet government agencies, and then go kick the front door down. As Broots likes to remind me, most of the employees there are just regular Joes with little idea of what goes on in the shadier sublevels. They’re unlikely to resist my orders. You and I can go down to SL-27 with a handpicked assault team and get the kids back. Then we’ll have a press conference with free sushi and lattes for everyone.”

“We might have a little trouble with the current SG Center’s Director, he’s risk averse, but otherwise I like it,” Jarod grinned appreciatively. “I’ll go run some simulations on it while we wait for everyone else to get here.”

TO BE CONTINUED


	2. No More Pretending

 

After a tense evening arguing plans and Sydney giving her disappointed looks for not telling Jarod about her Sentinel status, they agreed to take off for Dover first thing in the morning. Jarod slept on the couch downstairs while the rest of them found their beds. Of course it was too much to hope for that she’d have a dreamless night’s sleep.

Opening her eyes to the dojo again made Parker sigh with disgust, “Why am I here again?”

“Because I’m trying to help you and you haven’t told your Guide the truth,” answered Kamiya-Sensei. “Let’s go for a walk.” Turning, she slid open the shoji doors, revealing a pristine beach bordering a blue-gray ocean glittering with scattered stars of unearthly colored light. At first she thought it merely a reflection of the sky, but it was daytime and the sky was clear. She could smell the ocean spray and hear the crashing of the waves against the cliffs in the distance.

“We’re going to rescue those kids,” Miss Parker said firmly as they walked barefoot down the beach, stopping when waves lapped across their calves.

Kamiya-Sensei shaded her eyes and waved at Hattie, who frolicked in the water with a dolphin of all things. “I know you’ll try, but your current plan probably won’t work.”

“I’m all ears,” Miss Parker sneered, folding her arms.

“Not only is Director Taylor a problem, but someone will just try to suppress us again unless you destroy the altar on SL-27. However, only magic can do that,” Kamiya explained.

“Magic,” Parker repeated, deadpan.

“Look at where we are and tell me again you don’t believe in magic?” she said pointedly. “I’ve got your cousin coming to take care of that, but your plan probably won’t get even that far because Director Taylor’s so unhappy with all of the recent changes that he’s going to dig his heels in and refuse to go anywhere. He’s made some choices lately that contradict his instincts, so his Guide powers are waning too.”

“Wait, what cousin?”

Smiling slyly, the Sensei responded, “Hermione, of course.”

Shocked, Miss Parker blinked. “You mean the girl I met in London all those years ago? _That_ Hermione?”

“Mmm hmm,” the Japanese woman nodded. “She’s not just a girl though. Meeting you brought her Online as a Guide. She’s also a witch. If you can get her and her friends to the altar, they’ll destroy it for us.”

Shaking her head, Miss Parker deflected her complicated emotions with humor. “Of course I can’t have any normal relatives.”

“At least she’s not evil or psychotic,” Kamiya offered cheerfully.

“Alright, I’ll keep an eye out for her to show up, but what do you propose I do about Director Taylor?” asked Parker.

“You’re going to have to come out to the Pride as a Sentinel,” she said flatly.

“Why will that make a difference?” Parker argued.

Kamiya-Sensei gave her a complicated look. “If Jarod’s plan doesn’t work, Taylor will convince everyone not to trust you. A mundane woman, no matter how gorgeous and commanding, won’t be able to recruit a large enough force in the time we have. Jarod’s an amazing man and a very powerful Guide whom a lot of people will believe, but he can’t convince everyone by himself either and it’ll take time. Those kids won’t last more than a week if that before Raines starts experimenting on them. Only an Alpha Sentinel Prime, one who is the Mother of Sentinels, can grab them by their hindbrains and get everyone facing in the right direction to take war to our enemies.”

“If I decide to use it, and that’s a big if,” Miss Parker growled, “I first want to know what this Mother of Sentinels crap is.”  

Tilting her towards the water, Kamiya asked, “Do you see those colored sparks? Those are baby spirit animals, waiting for a nascent Sentinel or Guide worth leaving the ocean for.  However, most of them will awaken Guides because the ones meant for Sentinels didn’t have the patience to wait out the long siege without fighting back. They were mostly shattered by decades of struggle. Their remains lie along the ocean floor like seeds, but soon they’ll disperse completely. New animals aren’t being born anymore. The cycle needs a push.”

“And just how am I supposed to create this push?” Parker asked cautiously.

Kamiya smiled toothily. “Did you know that one of the best mothers in nature is an octopus, who can lay tens of thousands of eggs?”

Flicking her eyes between Hatshepsut and Kamiya-Sensei, Miss Parker replied, “I also heard that the octopus can’t hunt while protecting her eggs, starts consuming her own tentacles for food, and then dies soon after the eggs hatch.” Flat eyed, Parker finished, “Sounds like a barrel of laughs, but no thanks.”

The smile dropped off Kamiya’s face. “Only you can do it and it must be done soon. Otherwise it will take ten generations if not more to increase our Sentinel numbers. Be the Sentinel you were always meant to be. Trust in yourself.”

Then Parker woke up.

Almost a full day of driving brought them to the lobby of the Dover SG Center. It felt very modern, all glass and steel. Despite that, it still somehow managed to feel warm and welcoming. Their interior decorator was a genius. The large lobby had multiple seating areas with glass-walled recreation and meeting rooms. Only one room by the reception desk and assumedly the hallway leading to the rooms behind it were opaque and equipped with active white-noise generators to provide privacy from Sentinel senses. Otherwise, the glass seemed an honest reminder that a building full of Sentinels would be slim on privacy.

While Jarod went up to the desk to get a meeting with Director Taylor, the rest of them hung back and took stock of the local Pride as planned. Miss Parker had carefully dressed to command attention for today’s meetings. She’d chosen blood red for her lipstick, designer heels, and silk blouse. A plum jacket and skirt completed her look. The anxious four year old clinging to her hand compromised her untouchable image, but she didn't have the heart to push him off.

Just that morning Jarod had gotten confirmation from Angelo that the three missing kids were being held in the depths of the Centre. She was determined to make this plan work. Even if she had to come out as a Sentinel, she’d make sure she rescued them from Lyle and Raines.

Despite it being just after dinnertime, the place was packed. Her lips curved in a pleased smile as she noticed the number of men with buzz cuts and bulging muscles. She wouldn't have a problem finding enough fighters to attack the Centre with her.

One particularly nice specimen whose look just screamed cop noticed her appreciation. He was a Sentinel from the way he cocked his head to the side and flared his nostrils as he met her stare. At first he looked suspicious, but when she just gave him an up and down and then quirked her lips, he huffed a laugh and gave her a flattered smile before turning back to his quick-talking, curly-haired companion. A second later a serious-looking black man in glasses came up and clapped the stud on the back. A teenaged boy followed.

"Do you know them, Miss Parker? Please introduce me, please," begged Debbie, staring longingly at the boy across the room.

Looking between Debbie and the other group, she saw the teenage boy sneaking looks back at Debbie around his father’s shoulder. As soon as she focused on him, she could tell he was a Guide. Interesting.

"Broots," she called from where he was reacquainting himself with someone. He excused himself and hurried over. "Have you given Debbie rules for dating and interacting with Guides?"

"Miss Parker," Debbie squawked.

Broots frowned and looked at his daughter. "Yes, I have. Right, Debbie?"

Sighing, the teenager recited, "Dates have to meet you first, no staying out after ten, no being alone in my room or theirs, and no bonding to a Guide, platonic or sexual, before I turn 18 unless my control gets fragile AND you okay it. If I have sex questions, talk to Miss Parker and she'll give me condoms and advice."

"Wait, what?!" Broots flailed, looking between his daughter and his boss. 

"Alright, let's go and meet the cute Guide catching your eye." Gesturing everyone forward, Miss Parker ignored Broots's dismay and Sydney's amusement.

The group in question had walked into a rec room designed for children. On one side, “The Lion King” played on a big screen TV above a colorful carpet littered with blocks and puzzles. On the other, several teens played table soccer and pool. A seating area was positioned in the middle.

When they came inside, the curly haired man leaned away from the stud, who was recounting their conversation in his ear, to wave them over with a friendly smile. "Hi, I'm Guide Blair Sandburg and this is my Sentinel, Jim Ellison." Pointing to the black man, he added, "Simon Banks and his son, Guide Daryl. Won’t you lovely ladies and your friends join us?” He beamed at Parker with open appreciation that lacked any pressure before meeting the gazes of the rest of their group.

"Thank you," Miss Parker smiled, charmed despite herself.

Gabe tugged at her hand. "Can I go watch the movie?" he begged.

"I'll watch him," Sydney offered.

Canvasing the room, she didn't notice anything too worrisome. "Go," she nodded.

"Wow, he's a little Sentinel isn't he?" Blair said with quiet wonder. Then he turned to look at Debbie. "And you're a female Sentinel. Man, both of you are amazingly rare!"

"Is that a problem?" Miss Parker asked levelly, extending her passive empathy as far as she could to get a reading off of him. If she sensed greed or threat, she'd put him and his friends down with extreme prejudice.

"No, not at all," Blair assured her, dropping his shoulders and sinking back into the couch to look more harmless. He also used thinned his shields to leak friendly curiosity and respect, though Jim tensed by his side and watched Parker’s hands carefully until she forced herself to relax. The emotions seemed honest and not manufactured, at least.

Blair somehow amped up his smile and friendliness. She wanted to like him despite her usual suspicion of humanity. "It's awesome to meet you guys! I'm an anthropologist and shaman by training. I study Sentinels and Guides when I'm not helping out Jim with cases. I'd love to get interviews from your young Sentinels about coming Online for my research if you have time while you're here. The community needs to know more about how and why kids and females come Online. There’s not much information out there, and what is out there is full of prejudice and bias.”

"We'll have to see," she answered vaguely.

"Oh look, a pool table is free. Do you want to play, Daryl?" Debbie blurted into the awkward silence that followed.

"Yes!" he said with a nervous break in his voice. He blushed. "I mean, I'd love to." The two teens scrambled to their feet and left, casting shy little glances at each other the whole way.

Broots turned to Simon with a wry look. "I'm Debbie's father. Call me Broots. I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of each other."

Simon chuckled. "We flew out here from Washington for a conference and so Daryl could meet some Online kids his age. He looks star-struck by your daughter, so I guess my plan worked." He and Broots struck up a parenting conversation that Parker found completely boring.

"You didn't say your name. Are you here to get your kids some training?" Jim asked privately as he turned to face her.

"Miss Parker. And they're not my kids," Miss Parker replied as she sat down and crossed her bare legs.

Distracted with appreciation, Jim blinked for a second before he looked up at her and smirked, "You may look gorgeous enough to belong in a magazine, but I can still sense a lie, Miss Parker." Obviously he wasn’t distracted enough.

“When he’s right, he’s right,” Blair nodded, “about both parts.”

Miss Parker rolled her eyes and sighed. "They're mine to protect, boys, but I'm nobody's mother." _Not yet, at least_ , she thought to herself. "Are you police officers?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Yep, even the Chief here when he isn't distracted with his research," Jim said, tugging on one of Blair's curls teasingly, causing the man to drop the tin of mints he'd been about to open and send him a glare.

Catching the mints with the tip of her shoe, Miss Parker kicked them back up into her hand.

"Good catch. What about you?" Blair said admiringly.

 "I'm between jobs at the moment," she answered smoothly, passing the mints back to Blair. Her fingers brushed against his in the process. She felt something flutter against her mental shields and slip through her first layer.

Blair turned white and dropped the mints again onto the floor with a clatter. Mouth gaping open, he stared at her in shock and awe, as if seeing the Loch Ness Monster pop out of a swimming pool in Farmville, Indiana. "You- you're- how are you hiding that? All six _and_ aquatic? How are you even possible?" he whispered.

Jim looked at her warily and pressed his fingertips against his Guide’s wrist. "Blair?"

Then Jarod walked in, cutting short her spurt of panic at being discovered. Dressed all in black, he exuded power and danger as placed one hand protectively on the back of Parker’s chair and gave the tense men an aloof stare. "The Director will be ready to see us in ten minutes," he told her.

Uncrossing her legs, Miss Parker stood up sleekly. "It was nice meeting you, gentlemen," she said dismissively over her shoulder.

"Wait," Blair blurted out. "Do you have a hotel room yet?"

"I don't see how that's your business," she answered coolly, “as I’m not inviting you up for any _euphemistic_ drinks.”

Blair stood up desperately. "Wait, no, I meant that in a totally respectful and not at all skeevy way. Look, it's impossible to get a hotel room in this town right now. We booked a four-room suite, but half our party cancelled. You can have the other two rooms and we can even help babysit, well Simon and Daryl can. Admittedly, Jim and I don’t really know what to do with children, but anyways, please say yes."

At her hesitation, Jim looked back and forth them before adding his support. "I’m not just a Sentinel with a strong protective instinct, I’m a good cop, as are Blair and Simon. You’re trying to protect two rare Sentinel children at a time when kids are going missing. We can help you protect them, plus our hotel has 24/7 security with Sentinels on staff and a pool with free soft-serve ice cream." Jim raised his brows and met Parker’s eyes steadily.

“Free ice-cream?” Jarod asked devilishly into the quiet, for some reason undermining her refusal. “Very tempting.”

"That’s right. Besides, you probably don't want kids at your meeting anyway,” Blair argued persuasively. “Director Taylor totally doesn't have patience with kids. Why don't the rest of us go back to the hotel while you have your meeting in peace?”

Jim suddenly looked apologetic. "Uh, Blair? We do have that meeting tonight for Sentinels in law enforcement. We can’t go over until after that."

"That shouldn’t last more than an hour. Simon can take the kids over and we'll follow later," Blair waved away his objections. "Miss Parker, I'm getting a very strong Guide vibe ordering me to help you. My vibe is saying the kids should get out of here and go play at the hotel before it gets late. Please. We can even chauffer you over to the hotel after your meeting with the Director."

Offering his hand, Blair begged, "Please trust us. Let us help you."

Miss Parker never trusted easily, yet something about this Guide made her want to. Her instincts all pushed at her insistently. She liked him. Brushing against him mentally felt comfortable. Nothing in him even hinted at evil.

She teetered on the edge of agreeing. They really did need to find the children a place to sleep tonight besides the backseat of the car. They'd ditched Jarod's car yesterday and she’d so far refused Jarod’s offer to find a warehouse to break into.

Glancing over at Jarod, she saw him appraising the newcomers. Then he met her eyes and gave her a slight nod before turning to Blair with a friendly smile. "Guide Blair Sandburg, right? I've read your books. They're very good. I recently recommended them to a friend in Britain to read."

_Jarod seemingly trusted them, but should she?_

“Thanks, man. Let me know if you ever want to talk theory,” Blair offered with a flattered smile, though he didn’t lower the hand stretched out towards Parker.

Reaching out, she glided her fingers across Blair's. The touch felt electric. As their eyes locked, Miss Parker poured through his shields like butter soaking through bread. Blair sucked in air hard, but otherwise didn't resist at all.

Sliding back out despite her desire to lean against the cushion of the Guide’s mind, she released Blair’s skin and the connection. Both of them blinked tears from their eyes at the loss. She felt both Jarod's confusion and Jim's instinctive hostility at someone coveting their psychic bond, but she avoided their eyes. If they hadn't seen through her spirit animal’s camouflage to her Sentinel nature yet, she wasn’t about to give it away now. Respecting her privacy, Blair smoothed back his curls and kept quiet. Jim put a hand on Blair’s back and shook off his irritation.

Clearing her throat, Miss Parker gestured to Sydney and Broots to gather up the children. "Very well, we'll join you at the hotel later. It's close to Gabriel's bedtime anyway and he shouldn’t hear what’s going to be said at the meeting."

"I'll keep them all safe until you get there," Simon promised intently, casting his protective gaze over all three children.

"Thank you. Sam will make sure too," Miss Parker added simply.

"Sam who?" Simon asked, looking around.

"Are you talking about the big guy in the lobby whose been secretly watching us through the glass?" Jim asked pointedly.

Raising her fingers, she crooked them without looking away from Jim. Seconds later, the glass door swung open and Sam strode inside. Miss Parker raised her chin regally. "He's mine too. They're all mine."

"You’re claiming me, Miss Parker? I'm touched," Jarod teased, trying to break the tension.

Miss Parker swallowed back a possessive affirmative growl and forced herself to not look at Jarod, the Guide she wanted to claim in the most primitive and permanent way possible. For a moment Jim felt like a potential rival for her Guide and she almost stepped between them. Then sanity returned. Jim had Blair. He didn’t need or want anyone else. She had to calm down.

"You're like the flu, Jarod. Just because I have you doesn't mean I don’t want to get rid of you," she forced herself to mock lightly. Jarod laughed, undaunted, and she couldn’t help the way her lips turned up just slightly at the sound.

“That just means you find being healthy boring,” he teased back.

After giving Sam strict instructions and receiving a tight hug from Gabe, she sent off everyone but Jarod to the hotel with the Banks family. Jim and Blair passed over cards with their phone numbers and took off for their own meeting with a group comprised of Sentinels and Guides in law enforcement.

“That group will probably form the bulk of our assault force,” Jarod murmured into her ear as they watched their new friends go into the meeting room with the white noise generator. His unexpected closeness sent a tingle zipping down her spine.

“Guide Jarod?” a female voice called from above, interrupting them a second before Parker gave in and swayed into the heat of his body.

Turning, she saw a female Guide waiting at the top of the glass walled staircase. They walked up to join her on the balcony overlooking the lobby. "I'm the Deputy Director, Guide Lupe Gonzales. This way please."

Using a keycard, she took them through locked door and down a hallway into a private meeting room with noise-cancelling electronics that activated when the door shut. A narrow-featured Guide in his forties sat at the head of a table. When he saw Miss Parker, he barely spared Jarod a glance as his eyes widened appreciatively. He stood up as they joined him at the table. "I'm Director Taylor. I don't believe I've had the pleasure," he said, actively pushing feelings of charm and appreciation onto her instead of just thinning his shields to reveal honesty like Blair had earlier.

Hiding her disgust at his mental and borderline illegal manipulations, she called on decades of training to give him a pleased smile. "Nor have I," she flirted, ignoring Jarod's annoyance and Guide Gonzales’ stiff reserve. "I’m Miss Parker. Thank you for agreeing to meet with us."

Sitting down into the chair he pulled out for her, she watched his eyes trace the hem of her skirt as she crossed her legs. There was appreciation and then there was blatant and disrespectful ogling. How had this man become head of the largest SG Center in the world? Focusing back on her task, she began with the strategy she and Jarod had hashed out back at the cabin. "We know where your three missing children are being held, but we need your help to get them back, Director Taylor."

Looking up from her legs, he frowned. "That's a very serious claim. How sure are you?"

“We have an eyewitness who saw them as recently as this morning,” Jarod interjected smoothly.

“Are they alright?” Guide Gonzales demanded anxiously.

“So far, they haven’t been hurt, but that’s likely to change soon,” Jarod said grimly.

Director Taylor frowned at their interruptions before turning back to Miss Parker. “Just where are they and who took them?”

“Have you heard of The Centre in Blue Cove?” Miss Parker asked.

Squirming in his seat, Taylor shook his head and tried to downplay her words. “You can’t possibly think they had anything to do with this. They’re one of the most respectable private research institutions in the state. Besides, many of our Sentinels come from Blue Cove. It’s a good town.”

“I hope your disbelief doesn’t have anything to do with how much The Centre has given you in personal donations over the years,” Jarod said softly. “Like your transatlantic cruise last winter.”

“You’re out of line,” Director Taylor snapped, though a bead of sweat and thread of anxiety rolled down his face.

Eyes widening, Guide Gonzales looked at Director Taylor with betrayal and no small amount of loathing. “You haven’t reported any gifts to the council.”

“They weren’t gifts to our institution from The Centre, they were merely gifts to me from my friend Mr. Lyle,” he defended. “And none of this proves that the Centre has any involvement with our missing children. I am familiar with the Centre, but I am not familiar with either of you.”

Miss Parker wondered again how she’d agreed to play the good cop here. It was definitely not natural. Leaning forward, she said, “Get a Sentinel in here and you’ll know we aren’t lying. Help us save those children, Director Taylor.”

Giving her a condescending smile, he said, “You’re mundane, so you don’t understand how this works. Just because you believe your eyewitness is telling the truth doesn’t mean he is. For all I know he’s just trying to get back at his employer for some perceived slight. My Sentinels can only read your honesty, not his. I need more evidence than that before I do something that could cause such a huge scandal as accusing The Centre of wrongdoing.”

Miss Parker’s patience snapped. “Your caution could mean those children’s sanity if not their deaths. Now is not the time to be overly cautious. You have a responsibility to defend the Tribe and to rescue them. They’re just _kids_.”  

Director Taylor sent her an ugly frown. “Since no one in this room is a Sentinel, especially not _you_ , don’t try manipulating me with _defending the Tribe_.”

Everyone but Jarod jumped when she slammed her fist on the table and then snapped, “I’m not manipulating you, I’m telling you plainly to get your lips off Lyle’s ass and do your job as Director to find your people.”

The conversation deteriorated after that despite their best attempts. Even with Guide Gonzales’ support, Taylor refused to be swayed. “I’m the Director because I’m the most powerful Guide qualified to take the post,” Taylor snarled at them.

“And because no one more powerful has ever wanted the job and the council still thinks fondly of your parents. That could change very quickly,” Jarod pointed out threateningly.

Taylor sent him a poisonous glare. “I refuse to embroil my SG Center in a scandal. If you can give me better proof, do it. Otherwise, I _order all of you to remain silent and not spread slanderous gossip_.” The Director pushed his command at them with the Guide voice, something only the most powerful of Guides had. It sank into your hindbrain and made you want to obey. At least, it would unless you were powerful enough to fight it off.

“Now get out,” he demanded through gritted teeth. Rising to their feet as one, Miss Parker and Jarod left, followed by the ashamed and mentally beaten-down Guide Gonzales. Director Taylor stomped after them to make sure they left.

As they came out onto the balcony with its wall of clear glass, Miss Parker looked out over the still busy lobby. She abruptly stumbled to a stop when she saw a familiar profile down below in between two Sentinels, one an aristocratically-handsome blond and the other green eyed and dark haired. Jarod made it all the way to the steps before he realized she’d stopped. He turned impatiently.

The curly-haired young woman down below somehow felt her gaze and looked up with warm, whiskey-colored eyes. A delighted smile crinkled her freckled face. It really was Hermione, just like Kamiya-Sensei had told her. Not only that, but her supposed cousin was a very strong Guide. Maybe even a witch?

Everything clicked into place as she finally accepted that her dreams had been real. Hermione wouldn’t be here otherwise. That meant the advice in them was real too. Jarod had a plan B, but it would take several days to implement, days those missing children might not have. They needed her to protect them. They needed a Sentinel.

Standing on the edge of a metaphorical cliff, Miss Parker grasped tight to the strength and integrity in Hermione’s face. Her cousin’s eyes widened as if in understanding and then narrowed with determination. Hermione sent her a firm nod of support. Buoyed, Miss Parker took a deep breath.

Then she stopped running, stopped chasing, and stepped off the cliff into the watery abyss long ignored inside her soul, gathering power on her descent. Unbuttoning her plum jacket, she slipped it down her arms and draped it carefully over a nearby chair so it wouldn’t wrinkle. Then she turned to face Director Taylor. “I challenge you for leadership of the Dover Sentinel-Guide Center,” she proclaimed in a clear, ringing voice.

Everything ground to a halt as all eyes turned to look up at the tableau on the balcony. Remembering the books Sydney had forced her to read the last few weeks, she turned to the crowd to add, “Stay and witness or leave now. As tradition dictates, the doors will lock in two minutes.”

Face turning red, Director Taylor sputtered, “Don’t be ridiculous! You’re a _mundane_! You can’t challenge for the directorship. I’m appointed by the council.”

“The council makes appointments when there are no challenges, but challenges were never banned,” Jarod pointed out, following her lead. Probably no one else noticed his confusion and irritation at her going off-script.

“He’s right,” Gonzales pointed out with a bitter look at Director Taylor and an expectant one at Jarod, like she expected him to jump forward as the real challenger at any minute. Jarod was a stronger Guide, but that’s not how this would go. “Two minutes to lock-down. Spread the word, Sentinels. Everyone underage or mundane except the challenger is required to leave immediately.”

A few people scrambled out of the door, but most of the crowd swarmed out from the surrounding rooms and hallways to gather in the lobby below. Jim and Blair stood near the front.  Blair’s eyes danced with excitement, though he had his hand clasped over his mouth as if restraining himself from betraying her secret. Despite Director Taylor’s continued protests, the Sentinels below closed and locked the doors when the clock struck nine.

“Fine,” Taylor seethed, throwing off his jacket and rolling up his sleeves. “If we’re going to go through this farce, let’s do it. Show me what you’ve got, show me who you are, _mundane_. Then I’ll put you on your back. You’re probably used to that,” he gave her a dirty sneer. As insults went, it was pretty weak. She appreciated Jarod’s bristling, but she’d soon take care of Taylor.

Dropping his outer shields, she felt Taylor’s power pushing at her mentally. “On your knees, mundane!” he ordered. Guide Gonzales reeled from the backlash and dropped into a nearby chair. He obviously expected Parker to be affected, but it only felt like an easily ignored suggestion. Jarod frowned with disapproval, but otherwise didn’t budge either.

Touching down at the bottom of her ocean abyss, Miss Parker dug her toes into the sand, crouched, and then flung herself back up into the sky like a reverse shooting star. “My name isn’t _mundane_ , my name is Miss Parker,” she declared haughtily, dropping all pretenses, including her outermost shields, “I’m not only your superior; I’m an _Alpha Sentinel Prime_.”

Bedlam reigned in the lobby as a giant red octopus appeared in mid-air. “Hatshepsut,” Parker called. The octopus swam a loop around the ceiling before swarming down to curl itself above and around Miss Parker’s shoulders. The red tentacles blended perfectly with her scarlet blouse and draped to the floor like a stole. Cocking one hand on her hip, Miss Parker looked around regally. “I’m claiming this place and this Pride as mine, mine to lead and mine to protect. I will stand watchman, I will be your Sentinel.”

Then she replicated the push from his Guide Voice. “Get down on the floor like the dog you are, Taylor.”

“Impossible!” Director Taylor choked, though from the agitated murmuring below he wasn’t the only one shocked. “But- but,” he gasped out as he fell to the floor on his hands and knees and dropped his head, unable to help himself. A transparent stoat appeared by his side. It took one look at Hattie and flung itself to the ground at their feet in surrender. It looked sickly and thin.

Parker deliberately wasn’t looking over at Jarod, though she could see his staggered face from the corner of her eye and one white-knuckled hand clutching the railing. She had to finish this first. “Yield,” she demanded, stalking forward to stand in front of Taylor with her scarlet high heels clicking on each step.

“I- I yield,” Taylor gasped begrudgingly from the floor. She let up on her mental push. Immediately he sat back on his heels and looked up into her face. “You have Guide-like empathy on top of your five enhanced senses,” he whispered, blinking in shock. “I’ve never felt anyone as powerful as you, never.” Then he blinked and got a calculating look in his eyes, “But you’ll need a Guide to balance you, to help you control your Sentinel senses, to explain how everything here works. I can be that Guide, Sentinel. You need me.”

Miss Parker looked him up and down like something found on the bottom of her shoe. “Perhaps once you might have interested me for all of a second, but not now. A corrupt Guide like you? Someone who values himself above protecting the Tribe? There’s nothing you have that I need. Soon your Guide gifts will fail you completely. Leave,” she ordered. “If you change your heart and make amends, your gifts will return, but your spirit animal will know the truth. He won’t come to you again unless you deserve it.”

Hattie picked up the stoat in one tentacle and cuddled it close. Then the two of them disappeared. Taylor flinched and suddenly his mental presence seemed much weaker. Scrambling to his feet, he turned and stumbled down the steps to the nearest door, held open by a stone-faced Jim. As soon as Taylor left the building, Jim locked the door again.

Flushed with success, Parker turned back to the waiting faces below. “Tomorrow morning, we’re going to get our kidnapped kids back.” The crowd stirred with excitement. “Director Taylor disagreed, so he’s gone. No information leaks!” She pushed the command to enforce it. “I want everyone here at five AM. Come rested and ready to kick down the doors to Hell. I need all of you. We’re going to hit them so hard, the entire planet is going to flinch before even joking about taking one of my kids again. Clear?”

“Yes, Alpha!” responded the crowd below, almost in unison. It knocked her off balance for a second. She’d led teams before, but nothing like this.

Guide Gonzales stood up hesitantly, drawing her attention. “Alpha Sentinel Parker, you are now Director of the Dover SG Center. I respectfully need to ask, do you require the services of a Guide?”

Now that she’d accepted her status, a lot of instincts were clamoring for her attention. Jarod being a Guide definitely set off most of them. Turning her head to look at him, she carefully answered, “I have someone in mind, but we can discuss that later.”

Jarod’s lips pressed thin. “Or we can do it now,” he said, stalking forward aggressively, forcing her to shift to meet his gaze. Guide Gonzales drifted away, disappointed.

“If we bond, you won’t be able to pretend with me.” Jarod stopped in front of her to murmur.

“You always call me on it anyways,” she said wryly, heart thumping madly in her chest, a combination of anxiety, fear, and desperate hope, “and I’m the only woman in the world who truly understands and knows you. Pretending to be someone else won’t work with me either. Besides, you know I only take the best. That’s you, unless you plan on running?” She’d prefer not to do this in public, but events had forced her hand.

“If I run, you’ll chase, but can you really tell me why?” Jarod demanded darkly. “Is it only habit?”

Fisting her fingers, she tried to push down on the sarcastic retorts rising from her gut. Nevertheless, talking about feelings never came easily. “Habits don’t rule me, Jarod. I quit smoking, and that was always a lot more enjoyable than chasing you, even with the ulcer.” Jarod blinked, which on anyone else would have been a flinch.

Parker sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Ever since I came Online, my Sentinel has been clamoring to claim you. Even before I came Online, you have to know that I lived for your infuriating phone calls. Your voice has always Guided me, even when neither of us realized why.”

Dropping her hand, she met his piercing eyes. “I need you, Jarod. Is that what you want me to say? You’ll probably leave me one day, everyone does, but you are the Guide meant for me, my perfect match. You have to feel it like I do. Come on, bond with me.” She finished impatiently, pushing down hard on her emotions.

Jarod gave her a pained smile. It made her breath stutter. “I do feel it, Miss Parker. I’ve always felt the connection between us, ever since the first time we met.”

Then his face became intent and very stubborn. She had a feeling she wasn’t going to like what he said next. “But if I stop running from you, it’s going to be because I love you and intend to stay by your side forever, not because my Guide instincts know that your Sentinel is mine. If we bond, I have a feeling that you’ll try to blame it on instincts outside of your control. You’ll fight it. You’re too stubborn to do otherwise. I love you too much to make us both miserable. I won’t trap you against your will. ”

“Like I’ve been trained to do to you?” Parker spat, panicking and reeling from his declaration of love and commitment. She didn’t know if she could believe it. She’d never gotten a happily ever after in her life. They weren’t meant for people like her.

Furrowing his brow, Jarod gestured pleadingly, “What does your heart say, Miss Parker?”

Dragging in a suddenly soggy breath, she looked away and blinked back tears. “What do you want from me, Jarod?”

“You,” he said simply.

Usually at this point she’d say something cynical and leave, shut herself off emotionally and physically. That had always been their story. But Parker hated that life, had in fact hated herself most days.

On the other hand, things were different now. Like the fairytales once read by her mother, the peasant had become a princess, the Parker had become a Sentinel. Could she really make her own story? Could she change the ending this time? She wasn’t a Princess, that wasn’t her role, but maybe, in this story, she could be the dragon slayer.

Dashing the wetness out of her eyes, she made up her mind. Miss Parker turned to Jarod with a fierce scowl. “Fine! I want you, Jarod. Not the Guide, YOU! The most aggravating, sugar-obsessed, vengeful, crazy, compassionate man I’ve ever met. I love _you_.”

A joyous smile broke out over Jarod’s exultant face. “Marry me, then. Marry me as Jarod and then bond with me as your Guide.”

“What?” she asked faintly, eyes widening in shock.

“Marry me first,” Jarod repeated. “I know our bonding will be explosive, but I want you to make that choice freely and I want you to see that I’m making that choice for you. Please, Miss Parker. Marry me.”

Parker swallowed hard. Of course Jarod knew about her abandonment issues. He had them himself. His accusations about the bonding weren’t off either. She had been trying to pretend it was all instinct. Could she choose Jarod, separate from her physical attraction or desperate need for a Guide? Should she risk it?

Looking into his eyes, she felt peace flood her soul along with a curl of excitement. Miss Parker stopped fighting. “Yes.”

“Yes?” he breathed.

“Yes,” she confirmed with a grin, unable to help herself.

“Yes!” Jarod cheered. “Now?”

Parker shot him an incredulous look. “How?”

“I can do it,” called out Blair as he jogged up the staircase trailed by Jim, reminding them of the rapt audience below. “I’m a shaman and totally licensed to marry people. We just need four official witnesses.”

Beaming, Jarod leaned over the balcony, “Hermione! Bring Draco up here and come witness your cousin getting married. To me!” Laughter and cheering rocked the lobby as the curly-haired Hermione and her Sentinel made her way upstairs to join them. Jarod continued, “Jim can be three and the pretty Japanese Guide with the bear in the front makes four, if she’s willing?”

“Yes!” the Japanese woman cried, scrambling up the stairs with her spirit animal in tow. She looked familiar, but then so did a good chunk of the people in here.

“Thank you,” he beamed. “I’m Jarod, nice to meet you.”

Bowing, she came up grinning. “Kaoru Wakuda. I’m the first with Guide gifts in my family since my great-grandmother Kamiya.” Miss Parker felt herself go pale as she noticed the resemblance to Kamiya-Sensei from the astral plane. Luckily no one noticed her reaction. She wanted to demand answers, but her impending wedding forestalled the impulse.

Blair bounced on his toes. “This is, like, totally amazing guys. Okay, what’re everyone’s full names for the ceremony?”

Jarod and Miss Parker exchanged a speaking glance. "Our full names?" Miss Parker asked hesitantly, not sure why she felt surprised.

Jarod turned and gave her a sardonic smile. "We never use full names, do we? One more way the Centre keeps us from being whole. Isn't it time we reclaimed ourselves?"

She'd been only Miss Parker for decades, since childhood at the insistence of her father. Suddenly she felt vulnerable. She hated that feeling. "I am Miss Parker and I always will be," she said firmly.

Jarod sighed but gave her an understanding look. "We could get married as just Miss Parker and Jarod. I'm sure Blair doesn't mind. We don't even need to file legal documents if you don't want to, or I can make something up later. I just want you to want to marry me. I want us to share this ceremony together."

Despite his words, she could tell that Jarod cared about this. "I’ll marry you, Jarod, but I can tell you're secretly moping. You probably had dreams of fluffy white princess gowns and flower bouquets, accompanied by singing cartoon forest animals."

Jarod grinned. "Don't forget the cake, at least three tiers with lots and lots of sugary frosting."

"You'd make yourself sick," she said indulgently. "I'm not wearing a froufrou princess gown. _Ever_. To the world, I'll always be Miss Parker, but," she looked deep into Jarod’s eyes and let herself be vulnerable, let him see everything, "for my husband, in this moment, I'll be Andrea."

Gasping with emotion, Jarod surged forward and reached for her, about to sweep her up in a kiss. Dodging his touch, she held up her hand, "Wait, Jarod."

Jarod pulled back in confusion and hurt. "Why?"

Shaking slightly, Miss Parker laughed self-deprecatingly. "We never touch, Jarod. I've memorized your scent and the curve of your spine. My dreams are drenched with the sound of your voice. But the touch and taste of your skin is suddenly just beyond my fingertips like low-hanging fruit. Once I touch you, I don't think I'll be able to stop devouring all of you. I'm going to make a meal out of you," jerking her ravenous thoughts to a stand-still, she growled and forced herself to clench her fists down by her side to avoid temptation. "I'm all for marathon sex-bonding, but you said you wanted to get married first and I'm trying really hard to respect that."

Dropping his head, a red-faced Jarod gave a breathy laugh. "I feel like I must be dreaming. First you say you love me and now you say you want my body and you respect me. Watch out, Miss Parker. All these compliments are really swelling my head."

"That's okay, Jarod. I have plans for your swelled head. Naked plans," Miss Parker purred, flicking a glance down his body and licking her lips. Although his cheeks blazed even a brighter red, Jarod took a heavy breath and sent her a look that smoldered. She could feel his rising want and it matched her own.

"I'm starting to have some naked plans of my own with all of this sexual tension you're projecting," Blair interrupted candidly. "Let's do the wedding ceremony now so we can all go find a private room. I just need the name you want to use, Jarod."

Swallowing hard, Jarod ripped his eyes away to look at Blair. "Jarod Weiss. Please."

"Excellent," Blair clapped of his hands. "Shall we start?"

"Wait, you need rings," Hermione insisted, stepping forward and pressing two simple gold bands into Jarod's palm. Placing a kiss on his cheek, she stepped back with a grin and curled against her Sentinel's side.

Stepping up next to each other in front of Blair, Miss Parker barely resisted the urge to curl her fingers into Jarod's hand. However, she wasn't kidding about her control. One touch of his skin, especially with her Sentinel senses active, and her fragile control would snap. She wanted to give him this and, she admitted privately, she wanted this ceremony for herself.

Hattie appeared up on the reception desk in the back with a raven perched on her head. Both spirit animals looked excited by the proceedings. A menagerie of other spirit animals, including Hermione’s dolphin and Kaoru Wakuda’s black bear, crouched nearby watching happily.

Grinning, Blair pushed a curl behind his ear and began. "All life is interconnected. Sometimes, those connections are blessed with love. Choosing to publically recognize and nurture that love with a permanent bond is a sacred and serious action. Together we are more vulnerable, but in that vulnerable state we open ourselves to the greatest happiness. There is nothing more glorious in this life than to love and be loved. We are here to celebrate that choice by binding Miss Parker and Jarod in most holy marriage. This double bond of Sentinel and Guide, woman and man, will sustain you through good times and bad. Trust in your hearts and be true to each other, never stop talking, keep your partner at the center of your life, and keep your well of patience and forgiveness always overflowing. Hold onto the truth of your love and your lives will be blessed."

Blinking back tears, Miss Parker looked over and saw that Jarod's eyes were also wet as he gazed at her with open love. She gave him a wobbly smile as Blair said a few more words and then asked, "Andrea Parker, do you freely bind yourself in marriage to this man, to this Guide?"

"Yes," she declared fiercely, grateful and unashamed by the depths of her love and wanting Jarod to know it.

"Jarod Weiss, do you freely bind yourself in marriage to this woman, to this Sentinel?"

Swallowing hard, two tears trickled down Jarod's cheeks as he nodded. "Yes. No more running away. We've caught each other. From now on, we'll chase happiness together."

"Well, happiness and truth and retribution, because let's be honest with ourselves here," she added, wiping away her tears as they both chuckled, "but yes, together from now on."

Jarod's grin felt blinding. She barely kept herself from zoning on the beloved planes of his face and the ecstatic beat of his heart. If she could bottle the jubilant scent wafting from his skin, she’d make a fortune. Basking in their happiness, Blair directed, "Place the rings on each other's fingers as a reminder of your love and connection."

"I love you," Jarod vowed as he carefully slid the ring onto her finger without brushing against her skin.

Then he placed his ring in her palm. It felt warm from his body heat. Picking it up, she kissed the ring, imbuing it with her promise, and then slid it just as carefully onto his finger. Meeting his wet eyes, she projected her feelings and said, "I love you." Jarod's answering swell of devotion almost knocked her off her feet.

Voice wavering, Blair finished, "I now pronounce you wife and husband and witness the truth and rightness of your pairing. May all your days be blessed, as those who are privileged to be gathered here as witnesses are blessed."

The room reverberated with clapping and shouts of joy as Jarod reached out and finally pulled Parker into his arms. Their lips met in a long-anticipated kiss. It felt sweet. It felt like home, like love should.

Then the taste and feel of Jarod's lips exploded across her senses, knocking her sideways. If felt like going from black and white fuzz to the inside of a kaleidoscope of rainbow shards. Her senses zoomed in and out, all focused on the man, the Guide in her arms. She trembled, feeling wildly out of control and afraid.

Then Jarod was there. He slipped inside her shields. He guided her back to safety, locking the new colors into shapes that she could process, stabilizing her in ways she hadn't realized were in danger of collapse.

But as deep as he was, she could feel Jarod’s own need for shelter, for protection from the mental press of the world. He had a painful, empty place in his mind begging for his Sentinel to fill it, aching for her. Licking into Jarod's mouth, she slid her hands into his hair and encircled him with layer upon layer of protective mental shielding. No one would ever hurt him again. Not if she could help it.

Almost whimpering in response, Jarod pulled her leg up around his waist and ground against her as he sucked down her neck, leaving a mark. Distantly she heard someone shout, "They're projecting all over the place!" But she no longer cared about anything but the man in her arms.

Fisting her hands into his hair, Parker lost herself to instinct, ripping his head back until his black-dilated eyes met hers. "Mine!" she snarled. "My Guide!"

"Yours, Sentinel. Your husband, your Guide," Jarod gasped out as he leaned into her body despite her painful grip on his hair.

"Mine," she purred, dropping her hands to rip his shirt down the middle, sending buttons flying. The black cloth delectably framed his golden skin. Gripping his wrists hard to keep them down by his sides, she leaned over and licked him from the silky patch of hair trailing just below his belly button, up across his muscled chest, along the column of his throat, and over to his chin, ending with a hint of teeth. Jarod shuddered and whimpered with want, twisting against her grip. Her Guide tasted delicious.

She needed to taste all of him, had to know every single inch with no time to waste. The bond wouldn't be complete otherwise, not until she immersed her senses in his body and mind. Nothing else mattered but claiming her Guide.

From the corner of her eye she saw other figures intertwining together and dropping to the floor, but it paled in importance to getting her Guide naked and completing their bond. Sliding her hands across his shoulders, she stripped his shirt and jacket off his hands and then rode him to the floor. Rational thought was gone as she devoured his mouth, unlatched his belt, and ripped his pants off.

Time jumped unevenly as she touched and tasted him everywhere, running her fingers across every freckle and scar, tasting every shadowed hollow and curve, watching and inhaling and listening to the sounds dripping from his lips, memorizing her Guide with every sense she could. At some point she lost her own clothes. The feel of their naked skin pressing together in similitude of the press of their minds almost broke her. Settling astride his lap, she shuddered as Jarod completely intertwined their mental shields and simultaneously pushed himself inside her core both physically and mentally to complete their bond. Drenched with sweat and decades of desire finally fulfilled, they quickly rocked to a shattering climax.

When Miss Parker finally came back to herself, she found herself lying on Jarod's chest. The beat of his heart not only sounded in her ears but vibrated through her body. It felt so good she didn't want to open her eyes, even with the hard floor and potential for rug burn. Running his fingers through her hair with pleased possessiveness, she felt Jarod's chuckle start a second before air puffed across her face.

"What are you laughing at?" she griped, not wanting to move from her comfy position.

"You projected so strongly you set off an orgy," Jarod whispered gleefully.

Eyes popping open, she leaned up and looked around at the other naked Sentinels and Guides intertwined on every flat surface. There were a lot of very attractive people in here. Even Kamiya-Sensei’s great-granddaughter had ended up wrapped around Hermione’s dark-haired Sentinel friend.

Miss Parker couldn't help but giggle. Jarod's smile widened. "It wasn't just me projecting," she purred, dropping a kiss on his lips. "OUR bonding set off an orgy."

Jarod wagged his eyebrows and asked, "Wanna do it again? If you're not too tired, of course."

"Too tired? I think that's a challenge," she said with her tongue tucked into the corner of her mouth teasingly. "Time to test your stamina, lab rat. You are getting old. Do your best, as I'll be taking copious notes."

Taking her by surprise, Jarod flipped her onto her back. "Yes, ma'am. I intend to ace this test, though if I don't, I trust you'll give me lots and lots of private tutoring." Laughing delightedly into his mouth, she lost herself in rounds two and then a pleasantly surprising three. Finally the late hour, the rug burn in every sensitive place, and the movement of others got them up and dressed. A blissed out Blair and Jim drove the newly bonded pair back to the hotel, where they snatched a few hours of sleep.

TO BE CONTINUED


	3. The Different Ending You were Looking For

 

Cranky at Jarod for waking her up at o’dark thirty, Miss Parker dragged her Guide (with very little resistance) into one more bonding session of glutting their senses on each other and cuddling in the shower. Then they pulled themselves out of their bonding fugue to separate long enough to wake up the others. Miss Parker would have liked nothing better than to have holed away somewhere with Jarod all to herself for the customary full week of bonding and honeymoon shenanigans, but they didn't have time for that with teenagers still missing.

They also had to explain last night’s changes.

Sydney radiated pure delight, while Broots looked both shocked and amused by the turn of events. “So, um, should I call you Mrs. Parker now? Or Mrs. Jarod? Or something else?” Broots stuttered. At her flat look and Jarod’s snort, he dropped his head with a little smile, “Never mind, Miss Parker.”

Extending her senses, she easily found Gabe and Debbie’s soft snores and slow heartbeats. It felt much easier after bonding. The kids were sleeping in a few more hours. Then the non-gifted adults would take them to the SG Center and hunker down. No matter how much she wanted Sydney, Broots, and especially Sam with her during the assault, protecting Debbie and Gabe came first. She wouldn’t trust them to strangers.

As ready as they could be, Jim finally ushered them out into his car. Once they left, Jarod turned apologetically to Blair. "I hope last night doesn't make things awkward with people."

Blair waved away his words, "Hey, no, don't worry about it. It was great! Your love for each other is fierce and you were sharing that. No shame, man. I mean, I've never heard of a pair projecting so strongly that they knocked everyone into an orgy, but everyone was having a very good time last night, as you would have felt yourself if you hadn't been wrapped up in your Sentinel. Those uninterested in the shenanigans slipped out before it got too crazy. A few new pairs even bonded in your wake. In fact, you'll probably have an easier time getting people to follow your lead, since you kinda bonded everyone there, including the entire group from the National Sentinels in Law Enforcement Seminar, to you as the Alpha Pair at the same time you were bonding to each other. They know you're legit and in charge."

Then Blair turned in his seat to look at Parker. "You feel like a low-level Sentinel right now, just so you know. I am seriously impressed with your shielding. I have so many questions for you once this is all over."

"I'm sure we'll be happy to answer your questions," Jarod said, ignoring her mental snort at the word _'happy_ ' to turn the conversation in a way sure to shake up the mood in the car, "especially since I have some questions for you too. You've known for years that they're training Sentinels and Guides wrong, and you have a lot of power of your own that you keep locked down tight. Shaman Sandburg, I think it's time Sentinel Ellison took over the SG Centers in the West and you revamped the country’s training classes."

The car swerved slightly as a shocked Jim jerked the wheel and Blair went pale. Jarod just smiled calmly. "I have a lot of ideas of my own that I'd like to float your way. It's time for you to let the mistakes of the past go, let Alex go. Don't let her define you. Our people need you, Blair, they need Jim."

Jarod subtly leaned on Miss Parker's strength and she freely gave it. He projected sincerity and something sort of healing energy she'd never felt before into Jim’s and Blair’s minds. The curly-haired Guide chuckled wetly, barely stopping himself from touching Jarod, which Parker would have objected to so early into their bonding. She grounded herself on his scent and didn’t want other people to muddy that. "Wow, I've mentally healed others but never had it done to myself. Thank you, Jarod."

Jarod gave him a small and sincere smile. "You're welcome. You have the heart our people need, Blair. Think on it." Seconds later, Jim pulled into the almost full parking lot. Despite the early hour and new leadership, the Pride and its’ visitors had gathered as ordered. Blair and Jim hung back for a moment to talk about Jarod’s suggestion, so Parker and Jarod went ahead together.

As they entered the noisy lobby, a hush fell over the room. Everyone stopped and turned to stare. Raising her brow, Miss Parker looked around coolly. "I'm Miss Parker, the new Director. This is my Guide, Jarod. You have ten minutes until five. Get your coffee now and get focused. We're not going to summer camp, we're going on a rescue mission. Remember that."

Done saying her piece, she went over to an empty chair by the bottom of the staircase, sat down, and crossed her long tanned legs. Jarod disappeared for a moment. He came back with a steaming cup and a piece of toast for her.

Smiling gratefully, she took a large sip and then froze. Swallowing hard, she looked down into the cup. "What is this? It's not coffee."

"It's an herbal rooibos tea. You drink too much coffee for your ulcer. You know what your doctor said," he scolded.

Scowling, she hissed, "Did you hack my medical files?"

Jarod just shrugged his shoulders and smiled, unrepentant. "You haven't been taking the vitamins he gave you either. Try the tea again. You'll like it as long as you don't expect it to be coffee."

"Oh really?" she bit out disdainfully.

"Be difficult later, enjoy your tea now," Jarod pressed.

Sighing heavily, she begrudgingly took another sip. It actually wasn't that bad. Jarod knew her tastes. She did worry what other changes he planned on making to her life and diet, but decided to leave that battle for another day.

Smiling with smug contentment, Jarod looked around the room. However, the mirth soon drained from his face. His spirit animal, a large raven, appeared on his shoulder. "The Pride needs more unity with all of the visiting Sentinels and Guides if we're going to pull this off," he murmured worriedly. “There are people here this morning who were missing last night too. They aren’t as invested.”

Placing her fingers on the back of his hand, she grounded herself. "What do you suggest? We could do another orgy," she added, just to see him smile.

"I can't think straight when you're naked. We can't have another orgy if you expect me to outwit the Centre today," Jarod’s lips twitched as he turned his hand to intertwine their fingers. "I think we need a more spiritual type of group bonding."

"Sounds boring," she smirked, "but what do you need from me?"

Jarod nodded decisively. "I want all of our spirit animals manifested up on the second level. They can get to know each other up there while we work out things down here. It will strengthen and focus everyone's gifts. Hopefully they’ll also pick up on the way the spirit animals all respond to Hattie and transfer that to you."

Calling on Hatshepsut, Miss Parker ran a fond hand down one red tentacle before sending her up the stairs. They both ignored the increase in noise from the people absent last night who were shocked to see an aquatic spirit animal. Jarod's raven followed.

"What's his name?" Miss Parker asked, admiring the iridescent sheen on the raven’s feathers as he landed on the railing upstairs.

"Onisius, after the Greek god of retribution."

She quirked her lips, "A fitting name."

Blair and Jim drifted by, finally inside and on their way to the food tables. They paused to watch the red and black spirit animals lounging up on the balcony. Blair looked over at Jarod for a second of wordless communication, then nodded and sent his wolf bounding upstairs. Jim's black panther followed a second later. Soon a tiger, a dolphin, a bear, and some strange flying animal that looked part lizard and part mule joined them from the British contingent, followed by more and more animals as the Pride caught on and began manifesting their spirit animals and sending them up to join the zoological party.

"Is that better?" Parker asked quietly.

Jarod focused on the room for a second and then relaxed his shoulders. "Yes.”

“Then go get yourself something to eat,” she nagged.

Leaning forward, he kissed her cheek and paused, intimately breathing in the smell of her hair. Then he whispered in her ear, “I'm going to go get one of those pink donuts with rainbow sprinkles."

"Ugh," she wrinkled her nose, barely stifling a chuckle. She’d expected him to say something sweet, but more like a compliment and less like a pastry. "Make sure you use a napkin, you five year-old. I don't want you smudging any frosting on my Dior jacket."

"Enjoy your tea, wife," he grinned delightedly and strode away to the food table.

A few more groups of visitors from the surrounding hotels streamed in through the doors while she waited for the clock to tick over to five. Miss Parker didn't think much of it until she felt a spike of discomfort from Jarod. Standing up, she found him in the crowd with her gaze. Jarod had a flat look on his face and was stepping back from a man in a cheap suit trying to put his hand on Jarod's shoulder. Extending her senses with a scowl, she let her fingers hover near the handle of her concealed gun and eavesdropped on the conversation.

"Come on, don't be like that. You're a strong Guide. I'm a strong Sentinel with an important position in the government. I think we should work together," the suit insisted.

"I'm not interested," Jarod said coldly, "and don't try to touch me again. I don’t want someone else's scent contaminating mine in case my new Sentinel needs grounding.”

The suit refused to give up, "Look, I think your new Sentinel probably isn't as powerful or as important as I am."

Guide Kaoru Wakuda, standing next to Jarod with a cup of tea, snorted in disbelief and gave Jarod a commiserating grimace.

Looking down his nose, the suit added, "I'm just saying that new bonds can be fragile. Maybe you're not as well matched as you think. I think you'd probably be more satisfied with me. In fact, I think you should come with me."

Jarod slapped his hand on the table and froze the suit into immobility with a deadly, arctic glare. "Words cannot express how little I care about what you think. Bodies and minds are much more fragile than my bond to my Sentinel, and much, much easier to break," Jarod hissed, causing the other man to blanch.

Forcing herself to let Jarod handle it instead of drawing her gun and shooting the suit in the throat, she sat back down and took a sip of her tea.

Jarod continued with deadly seriousness. "My Sentinel, _and wife,_ satisfies me in every way possible. Bother me or any other Guide like this again, and I will make you regret it. And I’m not just saying that, I don't just think, _I know_."

Done saying his piece, Jarod took the pink sprinkled donut held out by Kaoru Wakuda and then stomped back through the crowd to her side. The suit followed Jarod with his eyes, glancing briefly at Parker's expensive outfit, the long legs exposed by her short skirt, her designer ankle boots, and her bold lipstick, before casting judgement and turning away in disgust without even meeting her murderous eyes. Pity. Men like that always underestimated her, to their eventual regret. She'd make sure to squash him later.

Placing a hand on Jarod's tense arm, she pulled him down to sit on the arm of her chair. He looked down with a wry little smile. "Sorry. I'll try not to get rainbow sprinkles on you."

"Do better than just try. This is Dior," she retorted, though in contrast to her hard voice, her hand ran gently up and down his back, scratching soothingly between his shoulder blades with red fingernails. Jarod quickly relaxed and began radiating contentment through their bond as he methodically devoured his pink donut with sprinkles.

A bonded pair of men stopped in front of them hesitantly. "Yes?" she finally raised one eyebrow.

"Miss Parker?" the taller of the men asked.

She raised her other brow impatiently. "What?"

"I- I don't know if it's a coincidence or not, but I wanted to say thank you."

"For?" she sighed. _It felt too early for this._

The other man spoke up. "Sorry, I'm Mark and this is Steve. What we wanted to thank you for, or maybe make you aware of, that is- well, both of us came Online after meeting you. You probably don't remember, but we met in a bar and had a one-night stand about ten years ago? You completely blew my mind and then disappeared." Mark shrugged sheepishly.

Miss Parker chuckled, "You're certainly handsome enough to be my type, but no, I'm sorry I don't remember it."

Mark gave a quick smile as Jarod scowled, adding, "You probably ruined me for other women, except I came Online the next day and then luckily found my Guide in Steve here. Steve repainted your house the year before and came Online right after too. We figured out the connection. We're not the only ones who came Online after meeting you, either. It's a bit of an unspoken secret around here amongst some of the locals. We just wanted to say thank you."

Blair popped up by their side. "Really? That's amazing!"

Shaking her head uncomfortably, Miss Parker said, "You don't need to thank me. I don't think I've really done anything."

"Hermione came online right after meeting you in London all those years ago," Jarod added, tipping his head to the side with a little grin.

"You admitted that you know all three of the kidnapped teenagers too," Blair pointed out excitedly. “And you have two very rare young Sentinels in your personal Pride. Let's test this theory."

Racing halfway up the staircase, deftly avoiding her clawing grab, Blair turned around and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Attention, people!" Everyone quieted down and turned to the staircase. His Sentinel, Jim, sent her a commiserating look. She bit back a frustrated and embarrassed growl. Jarod slipped off her chair with a teasing smile.

"I have an important question for you all," Blair announced. "Raise your hand if, right before you came Online, you either met or interacted with Sentinel Parker," he gestured to her.

A few faces looked baffled, but then Mark and Steve raised their hands, followed by Hermione and a couple she recognized from her favorite cheese and wine store. Then more and more hands went up until almost a third of the room had their hands raised. Most of them were Sentinels and most looked familiar. She felt staggered.

"I guess that finally solves the mystery of how the Dover SG Center has so many people Online compared to the rest of the world," Blair said reverently. "I can't wait to figure out the why, though I'm sure it has something to do with Miss Parker's rare aquatic spirit animal, being female, and her status as the most powerful Alpha Sentinel Prime any of us have ever seen."

Crossing her arms, she sent him a sour look. "This isn't really relevant right now."

"She's right, Chief," Jim said with fondness. "It's after five. We should probably start the meeting now."

Shaking himself, Blair hopped back down the stairs to join his Sentinel. "Right, rescue now, research later."

Jarod squeezed her arm and then climbed up the stairs to take Blair's place. She surreptitiously checked her jacket for pink frosting, but thankfully he'd remembered to wipe his fingers. "We want to thank the local Pride and all of you visitors for coming this morning."

Before he could say anymore, the pushy Sentinel suit from before stepped out of the crowd, staring at Jarod with avarice and arrogance. "I heard a lot of stories this morning, stories about a big, strong Sentinel taking over the Pride last night, but all I see is a strong Guide with a middling Sentinel who flashes a lot of leg and is supposedly around when some people come Online. Is she planning on always using you as a mouthpiece?”

Jarod looked down at him like a bug he wanted to step on. "I'm starting to doubt your Sentinel status, as your senses are clearly defective. Get to the point or get out." 

Puffing out his chest, the suit turned to Miss Parker. "I challenge you for leadership and for your Guide. I’m taking them both."

Angry shouting surged through the crowd. Hermione's Sentinel barely held her back from kicking the suit, though it looked like he worried more for her toes than the potential victim. "You can't just take a Guide! We aren't slaves or some fancy watch you can slip in your pocket!" Hermione yelled.

Unfolding herself from the chair with barely contained rage, Miss Parker didn't even bother calling Hattie down from the balcony. Curious spirit animals pressed up against the glass wall and hung over the balcony railing. The room went silent as she spoke. "After today, you aren't welcome back in our territory, no-name Sentinel with an off-the-rack, polyester suit."

"My name is-," he bit out, red-faced, but she immediately cut him off.

"I don't care. Your name could be Rumpelstiltskin, complete with gold-making ability, and I still wouldn’t care about you." Thinning her shields, she unfurled her power like the snap of a packed parachute deploying at 12,000 feet and glared. The suit went white with horrified shock and dropped to his hands and knees, weak with fear.

Miss Parker’s ankle boots clacked on the floor as she stalked forward and looked down her nose at the cowering Sentinel. "Jarod is mine. This place is mine. This Pride is mine. You came to find a Guide among us. You failed. These Guides are mine and you are not worthy. Leave and don't come back. If you do, I’ll break you. Now go." She hadn’t bothered putting an empathic push into her words, but nevertheless, the suit whimpered in fear. A dark stain darkened the crotch of his pants. He scrambled for the door on all fours and ran out.

Disgusted, she skewered the room with her gaze. "Jarod is not only one of the most powerful Guides on the planet, he's a genius and he’s chosen to be _my_ Guide. I will tolerate no more disrespect or interruptions from mouth-breathers. This is your only warning. I should be alone with my Guide enjoying my bonding week. Instead, I'm here. Next person to get on my nerves gets shot, I swear to God," she hissed, casting a threatening look over the crowd.

No one moved.

Grimly satisfied, she resumed her seat. "We're getting back my barista and the sushi twins today, so pay attention."

Jarod looked out over the crowd and smirked. "That’s my Sentinel, people, and my wife.” Sighing, Miss Parker had a feeling he was going to keep boasting about that for quite a while. “Now, the three teenagers were kidnapped by a corporation called _The Centre_ in Blue Cove. They are extremely powerful, rich, and secretive. These aren't the first children they've kidnapped to experiment on. They took me when I was four and kept me for most of my life. Most of the other children they've taken over the years have died or gone insane. However, they’re so rich and powerful that they’ve always gotten away with it.”

Taking a deep breath, he vowed with utmost gravity, “Never again. Today, we are shutting them down. Miss Parker and I know the Centre. We will take an assault team in and retrieve the children. The rest of you will assemble at their front doors. We need this to be as public as possible. I want news helicopters, government trucks, police cars, ambulances, fire trucks, food trucks, every alphabet agency and interest group you have access to, the whole works. All of us backing up morning traffic should get attention if nothing else. We'll do our best to pressure the Centre through numbers and exposure, but we are not leaving without those children.” Jarod paused and looked around seriously. “If that means a fight, then we will unleash our righteous fury upon them and remind the world for generations to come why a Pride of Sentinels and Guides is a thing to be both feared and respected."

The room shook as the crowd roared in support. Jarod and Miss Parker shared fierce satisfaction across their bond. When the noise finally died down, Jarod continued. "Sentinel Jim Ellison has already given me a list of recommendations for the primary assault team and secondary teams A and B. If you aren't on those lists and feel like you should be, take it up with him. I have the rooms around the lobby labeled with skill sets and lists of needs. Assemble in the room you can do the most good in. We'll spend the next couple of hours hammering out details and calling in favors without warning our foes. Then we'll leave. People have probably noticed the extra activity here already. We don't want them getting wind of our plans and moving our kids. Any last questions?"  

A female Guide hesitantly raised her hand, "Was Miss Parker kidnapped by the Centre too?"

"No, my father ran the place," Parker answered shortly.

"Oh," the woman winced. "Did you fall in love and then break Jarod out to be together?"

"Jarod broke himself out," she answered, owning her past unflinchingly and trying not to snort at the fairytale the woman was hoping to uncover. "I spent years chasing after him, trying to capture and bring him back into Centre control."

The woman froze with her mouth open, looking appalled and confused.

"But in the end," Jarod boasted, dropping a possessive arm around Parker's stiff waist, "I caught her instead, so we get to make our happily ever after together."

"You caught me?" Parker asked him incredulously, unable to stop herself from turning her head to take a deep breath of her Guide's scent.

"Well, you ran away from the Centre too, I tracked you down, and then we caught each other, but the marriage thing was all my idea. Like she said, I'm a genius," he boasted, tapping the ring on Miss Parker's finger. Yep, he was going to keep boasting about the marriage for months.

Rolling her eyes, she relaxed into the heat of her husband’s body. "I'm going to regret saying that in public if you’re not careful. Come on, we have an assault to plan." Over his shoulder, she saw Simon Banks enter the lobby, followed by the kids, Broots, Sydney, and finally Sam. The waved and then Broots and Sydney broke off to add their expertise to the planning while the rest disappeared into the kids rec room with its active white-noise generator and closed the door, just like they'd planned. No longer distracted with their safety, she focused on organizing her people for the rescue.

A few hours later, they finally had everything in place. This time, Miss Parker stood next to Jarod on the steps. Their spirit animals stood with them. Looking out over her people, she spoke. "Thank you for your hard work. We're going to back up traffic, so make sure to also use the alternate routes we assigned. Wait fifteen minutes and then start the first of the phone calls on your lists. Stay focused and don't get sloppy. This is risky, but the reward is huge."

"Good luck and thank you," Jarod said simply.

Looking out one last time, she tried to memorize their faces, just in case anyone didn’t come back. Then she spoke. "Go." The crowd scattered in orderly but energized fashion. She and Jarod walked arm and arm out of the building, prepared to return to the Centre for hopefully the last time. At least they’d do it together.

On the sidewalk, they split up to start loading the cars. "Do you know why I placed you on the assault team?" Miss Parker quietly asked the woman standing next to her.

"I have to be there to destroy the sacrificial altar," Hermione replied with a quiet intensity that suddenly made her seem dangerous. "Draco, Harry, and I all came here knowing our part. Our mutual acquaintance, a certain Japanese Guide with a star-shaped scar on her chest, explained it to me. Of course," Hermione flashed a smile, "I would have come anyways to have the chance to meet family again."

"Thank you," Miss Parker smiled sincerely. Then she confessed, "I've thought of you over the years too. Most of my relatives are a horror show, so it’s been comforting to think that there are normal Parkers in the world."

"Oh, I'm not normal," Hermione shrugged sheepishly, "but my family is definitely good. When this is over, you have to meet my mom. She's a dental surgeon who shares your killer fashion sense and inability to take crap from anybody. She'll love you."

"I look forward to it," Miss Parker shook her head, amused at herself for being excited to meet a dentist.

"Good," then Hermione tilted her head in thought. "I have to ask, have you noticed the family resemblance between Kaoru Wakuda and Kaoru Kamiya?"

At Miss Parker's cautious nod, Hermione continued, "She and Harry bonded last night in the wake of your, uh, wedding ceremony," they shared a smirk. "I haven't had a chance to really speak with her, but I don't think it’s a coincidence that she's here right now. I think we need her to destroy the altar. The Malfoys, the Parkers, and the Kamiyas were there at its creation. They should all be there at its destruction. You can add her to the team with the excuse of Harry being her bondmate, but we need her. I can sense it."

"Alright," Miss Parker conceded, "but she better not be as annoying as Kamiya-Sensei or I might end up punching her." Snorting with amusement, Hermione returned to her Sentinel.

Walking over to Jarod, Miss Parker placed a hand on the small of his back and leaned against him. "Add Kaoru Wakuda to the primary assault team with Harry Potter."

Jarod frowned. "I know they bonded, but I'm not very comfortable having even Hermione on the primary assault team, much less Kaoru. None of our British friends even use guns."

Miss Parker raised her chin. "I know Hermione's your friend, but she and Kaoru both have to be there. I don't have the time or the privacy to explain why right now. Just trust me." She tried not to hold her breath as she waited for his response. Blind trust was a new and fragile thing between them.

"I do." Turning his head, Jarod kissed her temple. Parker felt the truth of his words flow through their bond, warming her from the inside. He sighed and stepped away.

"It's time," Jarod called. The two assault teams assembled. "I want the secondary assault team covering the lobby and the street outside as soon as we disappear down the elevator," Jarod reminded them. "Sentinel Harmon Rabb and Guide Sarah Mackenzie from JAG are in charge of the A-team on the street.  Sentinel Cordell Walker and Guide Alex Cahill visiting from the Texas Rangers are in charge of the B-team in the lobby. If things get dicey, obey their orders. If you have to abandon us, Sentinel Walker will give the order and you will obey it!” Jarod cast a stern look around before finishing. “As a last reminder, the primary assault team will be Miss Parker and I, Ellison and Sandburg, Malfoy and Granger, Potter and Wakuda, and Gibbs and DiNozzo. Good luck, everyone. Let's go take back our people."

Once everyone got into the vans, the drive went quickly. Miss Parker had intended to use the time to mentally retreat to build up her ice queen mask, but Jarod's anxiety at returning to the Centre forced her to focus on him instead. They sat pressed against each other with their hands clasped, feeding reassurances and strength back and forth through their bond.

Only when they were about to drive into Blue Cove did she realize something. When she gave Jarod a suspicious look, he flicked a look at her from the corner of his eye. Then his mouth twitched. "You did that on purpose," she accused softly.

Squeezing her hand, Jarod sent her a soft look, "You don't need to retreat anymore. Caring about others can make you stronger, not weaker. Especially caring about me!” he grinned boyishly. “Use that, Miss Parker."

"I'm not always going to let you manipulate me for my own good, you know," she snapped, annoyed.

"But you do realize it’s for your own good," Jarod smirked.

Shaking her head, she opened her mouth to argue more when Jim interrupted them, "We're almost there."

Immediately the car snapped into deadly focus. Everyone checked their weapons one last time. The activity in front of the Centre looked normal, so hopefully they were still ignorant of the typhoon of Sentinels and Guides heading their way. "Remember, everyone follow my lead," Miss Parker ordered. Then their cavalcade of cars drove up in front of the tall stone building and parked.

"Showtime," Sentinel Gibbs grunted from the backseat.

Stepping out of the car, Miss Parker took a deep breath. Then she steeled herself and strode forward with Jarod and the rest of the team at her heels. As planned, Sentinel Rabb and Guide Mackenzie swooped forward and propped open the double doors for her grand entrance.”

Everyone in the lobby stared in incredulity as Miss Parker and her entourage marched inside. The guards at the security desk had phones pressed to their ears, but were staring at her with their mouths hanging open. Miss Parker gave them a haughty look. "I'm just here to retrieve a few of my things, then I'll leave."

"Miss- Miss Parker? And is that really Jarod?" stuttered Jerome the security guard, dropping his phone as he stood up from the security desk.

Billy, his partner, stood up as well and cleared his throat nervously. "I don't know what's going on, but Miss Parker… you can't bring all these people into the building without clearance from the tower. Those’re the rules. I'm sorry," wincing, he pulled his gun and pointed it vaguely in her direction. She felt the team at her back tensing, but they followed her orders and kept their weapons holstered unless she signalled.

Meeting Billy’s eyes, she let her presence swell in the lobby. For once, she felt grateful for Broots and his annoying babbling about coworkers. She was going to be diplomatic and avoid a fight if at all possible. People here were used to caving beneath her will. "Billy, your daughter is four years old and likes to dance, isn't that right?"

Starting, Billy looked over at his partner for a second before turning back to Miss Parker. His gun lowered slightly. "That's right," he said cautiously.

"My little brother, Gabriel, is the same age. Did you know that? A few weeks ago, he was playing at the park and accidentally zoned. When I got to the hospital, they told me he’d come Online as a Sentinel. That's why I disappeared. Mr. Lyle showed up at the hospital with sweepers and tried to take him. Mr. Raines wants to experiment on my little brother, so I took Gabe away to protect him. Wouldn't you do the same for your little girl to protect her from Lyle and Raines experimenting on her?"

Billy's gun dropped as his expression became disturbed and conflicted. Looking confused, Jerome spoke up. "That doesn't explain what you're doing here. We can't just let you come in and shoot one of the employees, even Mr. Lyle or Mr. Raines. It’s our job."

Miss Parker switched her attention to him. "Haven’t you been watching the local news about those missing Sentinels and Guides? When they couldn't get my brother, they grabbed three other Online children instead. Those missing children are locked up downstairs. I'm here to get those children back before they’re hurt or killed, unless you plan on _knowingly_ being a party to the murder of children? This isn’t something you can pretend not to know about anymore."

Sweeping the lobby with a commanding look, she announced to the gathered Centre employees, "I am not leaving without those children. You can let me go downstairs to get them or you can be casualty statistics for the Centre. One way or another, my friends and I are not leaving without them." More vans and trucks pulled up outside the building and with her Sentinel hearing she detected approaching helicopters and police sirens.

"After today there might not be a Centre anymore. You have no control over that. The only thing you can control is if you're going to die trying to stop me from rescuing those helpless children. Their families are waiting for them to come home. So are your families.”

“You know me and what I can do. I’m a Parker. I’m also a bitch, but I keep my word. You know Raines and Lyle. Choose your side." Then Miss Parker turned and marched for the elevator. Even knowing that Jarod and the others had her back, her shoulder blades still itched. However, thankfully no one shot her or even tried to stop her. The true villains worked on the lower levels and the top floors. Not here.

Pressing the elevator's call button, she turned back around to see Billy and Jerome placing their guns on the desk and stepping back against the wall with their hands raised in surrender. The other people in the lobby shot her nervous glances, but on meeting her steely-eyed stare, quickly followed the example of the security guards. Thank goodness for her reputation.

The second assault team swooped through the room and took over the situation. Giving Sentinel Walker a firm nod, Miss Parker ushered her team into the elevator and then pressed the button for SL-26, the lowest level available. The doors closed.

"The Tower's been warned but the elevators aren't locked down yet. That's a good sign," Jarod said as he knelt down, opening up the electronics panel and plugging in a mini-keyboard. The panel gave a low tone as it accepted the new destination of the secret sublevel 27.

Jarod turned to the group. "Things are going to be tricky from now on. Remember, the Americans with guns at the front and back with our internationals in the middle." Then the elevator touched down on SL-27 and the door opened.

"Let's go." Miss Parker took point with her gun raised. The repairs on the hallway were finished and the new doors were all shut. However, despite the new paint smell she could sense fresh traces of the teenagers beneath the fumes, a blend of coffee, soy, and something undefinable but familiar and hers. "I can sense them nearby," she said.

Hearing a sound, she held up a hand to stop the group. The Sentinels all dialed up their hearing. “Two men,” Jim whispered.

"It's Raines and Lyle," Miss Parker breathed.

"Miss Parker is up to something," Mr. Lyle's voice insisted from around the corner. "I just got a phone call from my contact inside the Dover SG Center. He wouldn't give me many details, just wanted to ask a lot of inconvenient questions, but like most of us, the man simultaneously hates and has a hard-on for my dear sister. She showed up there yesterday."

"Does she know about our new acquisitions?" rasped Mr. Raines.

"Unclear, though I wouldn't be surprised," answered Lyle grudgingly.

"That sounds like our cue," Jarod breathed as she finished repeating the conversation.

Nodding, Miss Parker resumed her advance. Around the corner she saw two doors standing open. Then Lyle and Raines walked out of one, saw them, and stumbled to a halt. Unfortunately the hallway was too narrow for the entire team to fit. Nevertheless the odds were still overwhelmingly in their favor.

"Did you miss me?" Miss Parker smirked, aiming her gun at Raines’s chest.

Lyle recovered quickly, flashing a charming smile. "Welcome back, sis. I see you captured Jarod."

"Yep, she did catch me," Jarod stepped up by her side, raising his gun to point it at Lyle, "in matrimony. We're married now." He flashed his wedding ring, though the hand holding his gun didn't waver.

Lyle's jaw slipped open in shock, then his expression hardened. "So the two of you came to get revenge? I knew you didn't really hate Jarod, but I didn’t think you’d marry him just to get him into bed. I guess that's one way to really thumb your nose at the Centre. You realize that Daddy must be spinning in his grave?"

For once, the invocation of her father had no power over her. She shrugged. "I'm sure my mother will straighten him out. I'm not here to kill you, Lyle, as much as I would enjoy it."

"Then why are you here?" Raines asked, beady little eyes flicking across her group with calculation as he slunk behind Lyle.

"I want the kids you took," demanded Miss Parker. From the corner of her eye, she saw Kaoru fingering the chunky beads on her unusually long bracelet and chanting something under her breath, but she didn't have any attention to spare for the oddity.

"Why do you care?" Raines asked raspily. Then he looked over their group and took a quick breath of realization. He choked, losing a hacking cough. Regaining his breath, he grated out, "Did you finally come Online? Are you one of them now? A Sentinel?"

"But we both did the ritual…," Lyle trailed off with confusion.

"I faked it," she said blithely, tossing her hair behind her shoulder.

Lyle's face mottled red with anger and betrayal. “You always did get off easy, unlike the rest of us,” he seethed.

Raines nodded darkly. "Then there really is no need for you anymore, not even harvesting your tainted eggs."

Before she could suppress her rage enough to start exacting vengeance at the mere thought of him harvesting her eggs for genetic experimentation, Mr. Raines, faster than a striking snake, crooked his arm around Lyle's body. Before anyone could react he fired his gun. Then he dived into the nearby doorway.

Miss Parker immediately returned fire, but she realized that it would be too late. Because of her Sentinel eyesight, she could see the bullet speeding her way as her perception slowed time down. Her shot would only hit Raines's shoulder, but his would terminally smash through her face. There wasn’t time to dodge.

She was dead.

However, something miraculous happened. Before the echo of the painfully loud gunshot even reached a crescendo, the air in front of her body shimmered. The bullet bounced off a nearly invisible shield in front of her nose and ricocheted off, hitting a pipe and then spinning out with just enough momentum to embed itself into the left chamber of Lyle's heart.

Someone else's shot hit him in the arm and another in the hip. The shots could have been fired by Jarod, Jim, or even Blair, she reasoned with a shield of flimsy dispassion to cover her shocked hysteria. Gibbs and Tony were stuck in the back with no clear shot. It couldn’t have been them.

Suddenly time resumed its normal pace as Jarod smashed her into the wall with his body, a protective measure that would have come too late without the obviously magical intervention. There really were witches, just like Kamiya-Sensei had said. She’d been saved by _magic_.

Over Jarod's shoulder she saw Lyle look down in shock and betrayal as scarlet bloomed across his white shirt. Falling to his knees, he turned to look at Raines hiding in the open doorway. "You've killed me," Lyle coughed harshly, hunching over and dropping his head as red blood spattered down his chin and onto the floor.

Then he lifted his gun and, without looking, fired a round into the open room before collapsing onto the floor. Lyle convulsed in a bloody spasm. Then he released a rattling sigh and never inhaled. She heard his heart stutter to a stop. A small ache blossomed in her chest, more for the might-have-beens than for the monster her brother had been twisted into becoming. She put it aside for another day.

The hall became unnaturally quiet. "Parker," Jarod moaned, clenching her convulsively with too tight hands and checking her over frantically. “Andrea,” he whispered achingly into her ear.

"I'm fine, Jarod. He didn't hit me. I’m fine," she soothed, barely keeping her voice from shaking as she clutched at him just as tightly.

She saw Kaoru staring at Lyle’s dead body with both guilt and relief. Then Kaoru looked up. Miss Parker gave her a thankful nod. The Japanese woman’s brow furrowed, but she bowed her head in acknowledgement.

Jarod eased back and took a quick breath. "We’re so lucky," he breathed fiercely. Then he tightened his lips on more words and jerked away, stalking forward towards the open door in lieu of wallowing in his lingering terror. She followed at his heels, not wanting to think about it more either.

Kicking the gun away from Lyle's lax fingers, Jarod darted a quick look into the quiet room. Then he took a longer look and moved inside. Following, Miss Parker saw Jarod swoop down. The old man lay sprawled on the floor in a puddle of blood. Jarod pressed his fingers against Raines's throat. She’d only gotten his shoulder, but Lyle’s bullet had severed his thoracic aorta. "Dead," Jarod announced, though she already knew it from the lack of vital sounds. She felt grim satisfaction.

Miss Parker suddenly heard someone retching in the hallway and smelled the unpleasant stench of vomit. She quickly dialed down her sense of smell. "It's okay, sweetheart,” Harry coaxed.

“Don't worry about it, Wakuda-san," Guide DiNozzo soothed. “Everybody pukes with their first dead body.”

When they came out into the hallway, Sentinel Gibbs harshly demanded, "Any sign of the kids in there?"

At their negative head shakes, Gibbs tightened his mouth and sighed. "I don’t like messing with crime scenes, but we might want to move both bodies in there and close the door so the kids don’t have to see them on the way out."

"Good idea," Blair said in support after a hard swallow.

Suddenly tired, Miss Parker nodded. Gibbs and Jim moved Lyle's limp body into the room with Raines. A blank-faced Malfoy closed the door. Only the blood and puke remained as evidence of the recent violence. She felt curious about the British trio’s composure in the face of dead bodies, but her curiosity would have to wait. One day she’d have to ask why they looked like soldiers on just one more battlefield, disturbed, saddened, but unsurprised by the violence. She had a feeling she wouldn’t like the answer.

"Let's keep searching," Miss Parker snapped. The next few rooms held only equipment and empty tables. Then they came to a locked door. All she could hear from inside the room was a white-noise generator blocking her senses. She could have pushed past it, but why bother when she had a gun?

"I'm going to shoot off the lock. Step back," she ordered.

"Wait, I can open the lock safely," Harry insisted. “We don’t want another ricochette.”

Raising her brow, Miss Parker stepped back and gestured invitingly. Harry stepped up and turned, blocking their view with his body. Craning her neck, she saw him pull out a wooden wand. Then he said a nonsense word, something like, " _Alohomora_." After the magical shield which saved her life she should be more trusting, but she still felt a jolt of astonishment when the door clicked and swung open an inch.

"Good," she grunted, "now get back."

Obviously unhappy at being considered in need of protection, Harry nevertheless bit back his protest and returned to the middle of the group. However, he kept his wand out at his side. The others followed his lead and pulled out their wands. Keeping her gun raised, Miss Parker pushed open the door. After assessing the room for threats, she holstered her gun and strode inside.

A plexiglas wall divided the back of the room into a cage and the front into an experimental space. A teenaged boy and two girls huddled in the cage despondently. They started jumping up and down and shouting when they saw Miss Parker enter.

Hesitating at the electronic locking system on the cage, she let Jarod push her aside to work on it. It only took a few seconds before the door unlocked. Then the three teenagers came tumbling out. "Miss Parker!" they cried.

She realized too late that as the only familiar adult, they would target her. All three latched onto her with jubilant hugs and grateful tears. She was glad to have them back, but it quickly felt claustrophobic and disgustingly moist! Horrified, she cast a pleading look at Jarod, but he only laughed back at her.

"Okay, yes, that's enough," Miss Parker called loudly, patting whatever arms and backs she could reach. The three finally stepped back.

Looking them over, she asked, "Are any of you hurt?"

"No, just sick of this place," sniffled her favorite barista, now a Sentinel, wiping his wet face with the back of his hand.

Hiding her grimace, she continued. "Alright, here's the plan. We're here to rescue you, but we have to do one more thing before we leave to make sure they never hurt another Sentinel or Guide again." Everyone but the British trio looked at her in surprise. She'd kept this part secret in case they didn't get this far.

"Sushi twins, Barista boy, can you stay strong and hold it together for a little bit longer, or do I need to send you up now?" she asked seriously.

The girls looked at each other and then spoke as one, "The good of the Pride comes first." The two Guides looked back at her steadily.

Taking a deep breath, her barista firmed his lips. "We protect the tribe. Just tell us what to do, Alpha Sentinel Prime."

Nodding sharply with pride, she turned on her heel, "This way, everyone."

Marching to the end of the hall, she turned the corner and saw that the old-fashioned doorway was no longer concealed by a fake wall. It had been replaced with an industrial steel door. With her mental gifts Online, she and all the Guides could feel a miasma of evil oozing out of the room like rotting pus from an infected wound. Everyone recoiled.

Swallowing down her gorge, Miss Parker opened the door. The light from the hallway spilled inside, illuminating the ugly black altar made of volcanic rock. "That thing is evil," Blair choked out, leaning against his Sentinel as his face went a sickly white.

"Yes," Miss Parker agreed shakily.

"They used that to kill our spirit animals and suppress our people,” Hermione said grimly. “That's why we came, to destroy it so it never happens again." Raising her wand, she advanced into the room with Draco and Harry at her back. Kaoru Wakuda followed a few steps behind Harry, unwrapping her long, beaded bracelet until it swayed from her fingers rhythmically.

"They tried to kill my Great-Grandmother on that altar," Kaoru hissed lowly. "They failed. A young Sentinel named Miss Parker gave her life to save her. My family has owed a debt ever since." Shocked, Miss Parker felt her eyes go wide.

Kaoru nodded in acknowledgement of their shared history and continued, "The altar was constructed using both the stolen life-force of Guides and Sentinels and the powers of magic. Only we who are both can destroy it. We will destroy it." Kaoru’s Sentinel gave her a proud look and nodded firmly in agreement.

A beat of silence passed as the four spread out to surround the altar. The transparent shapes of their spirit animals appeared behind them: dolphin, tiger, bear, and some sort of dragon. Then Hermione cried, "May magic and justice guide us this day. Begin!"

The four began calling out strange magical words that sounded vaguely latin and oriental. Extraordinary lights shot from the wands and Kaoru’s beads. They hit the altar with destructive booms that made the very air tremble.

However, the pitted volcanic altar seemed impervious. At first it merely absorbed the attacks. Then, almost imperceptibly, it began vibrating, stronger and stronger until it rattled along the floor as if trying to escape. Yet their spells still barely caused any damage.

Abruptly Kaoru screamed with righteous rage. Hair flapping in an invisible gale, she whirled her beads around above her head until they blurred, suddenly stopping them mid-swing to hover in the air pointed straight at the altar. A loud boom rattled the walls and released a cloud of dust into the air, making all of the Sentinels cough. Kaoru’s power scythed across the room in a glittering blade of solid night sky, jarring against the altar stone with a discordant clang.

A crack appeared in the center stone of the altar. It widened from the base of an iron ring embedded to hold shackles. Then the stone split down the middle, the two halves toppling to the sides. Kaoru fell to her hands and knees panting, utterly spent.

Now that she’d broken through, the others increased their assault. Their spells crushed the now weakened altar into more and more pieces, until Malfoy snarled something harsh that crumbled the rocks into dust. Potter flicked his wand like a whip and the dust shot up into the air with a black belch, only to have Hermione conjure a sudden blizzard that blasted the room into white opacity. When the storm dissipated a few seconds later, it left behind drifts of snow that melting through the cracks of the floor tiles with little curls of steam that formed dancing rainbows in the room. Finally nothing remained in the room but the four wizards.

Miss Parker felt light and clean, as if a weight on her spirit was finally gone. She felt reborn. Tears sprang into her eyes.

"And so it is done. The altar is destroyed, the last of the trapped spirit animals are finally freed, and our Parker family is redeemed," Hermione pronounced with a relieved sigh.

Miss Parker took a deep breath in through her nose and blew it out through her mouth. Then she turned to her people in the hallway. "This altar and the magic used to destroy it must remain a secret. If anyone asks, we rescued our teens and immediately left. The magic never happened."

Everyone looked shaken. "I vow to keep this secret and never speak of it," Blair finally promised. The others quickly echoed him.

"Is there anything else we need to do here?" Jarod asked quietly. At Miss Parker and Hermione's negatives, he nodded. "Then let's get out of here."

Kaoru’s Sentinel helped her stand up and kept his arm around her waist as they exited the room. Miss Parker closed and locked the door with finality. She held up the rear with Jarod as they walked.

With each minute that passed, Miss Parker began feeling a stronger and stronger urge from Hatshepsut. The mild tickling turned into a stronger and stronger itch. "I need to leave," she mumbled.

"We all do," Jarod wryly answered, distracted. "We're almost to the elevator. Then we can finally get out of the Centre for good."

They piled into the elevator, only to discover that someone in the tower had finally thought to turn it off. The buttons were still lit with power, luckily, just not working. Jarod crouched down and began hacking the panel. He got the doors to close. Then the elevator began rising with a jerk. It kept stopping every five floors or so, forcing Jarod to override the system again and again to keep it moving up. 

Miss Parker's vision began getting hazy and her body weak. She tried not to be too obvious as she leaned against the wall. The need from her spirit animal, the tug to leave her body, got stronger. She tried to hide her distress from Jarod, not wanting to distract him.

"You feel like your mind is disappearing," Tony Dinozzo whispered on a breath so Jarod wouldn't notice. "Are you alright?" The elevator jerked to a stop again and Jarod muttered a curse.

Closing her eyes, Miss Parker shook her head just once. She felt her mind start to detach. Scared, she forced her heavy eyelids to open, focusing on Tony’s green eyes. The Guide took her hand and squeezed. He felt like an anchor, trying to keep her from drifting away from shore. It helped, but not enough. She tightened her grip in desperation.

Silently Tony snagged Blair’s sleeve, attracting his attention from where everyone else watched Jarod's battle with the elevator. Taking in the situation at a glance, Blair immediately came over and took Parker’s other hand. Hermione looked up, paled, and followed him. Without any hesitation, she hugged Miss Parker around the waist. Hermione rested her cheek against Miss Parker's throat and supported some of her weight to keep her on her feet. It helped for the next few floors, but then the distress abruptly increased. Miss Parker failed to completely stifle her whimper.

Immediately Jarod's head snapped up. "What's wrong?" He bounded to his feet and reached for her. The elevator jerked to a stop again and Tony's grip slipped off her skin. Lacking his anchoring strength, Miss Parker’s mind went black.

When she wrenched her eyes back open, every Guide in the elevator, including the sushi twins, were crowded around touching her bare skin. It didn't feel claustrophobic. It felt like the only thing keeping her from tumbling out of her body. She clutched their strength around herself like a security blanket.

Jarod cupped her face with terror in his eyes. Deep lines furrowed his brow and bracketed his mouth. "I can feel something pulling you away from us, from me," Jarod spoke lowly. “Stay with me, Sentinel. Don’t leave.”

"Just fix the damn elevator, Jarod," Miss Parker croaked. "I'll be fine."

They both knew it was a lie, but if he remained focused on her, they would all be stuck here. The Centre had them trapped. With no other option, Jarod leaned forward and placed a hard, possessive kiss on her lips. Then he twisted away with a tormented growl and threw himself down in front of the elevator panel.

Blair began directing the efforts of the other Guides, building on what Tony had started. The energy reorganized, forming a net around her spirit. It kept her bound inside her body despite the heavy pull. Time lost meaning as she strained to stay within their net and with her body.

The elevator jerked to a stop with a loud ding and this time the doors finally opened, revealing the main lobby. The Sentinels clumped in front of the doors, protecting Miss Parker and the massed Guides. The lobby had become crowded in their absence. Guns pointed in just about every direction.

"How do we get her out of here safely?" Jim whispered privately.

"And do we know what's wrong with her?" added Gibbs from the corner of his mouth as he looked out into the crowded lobby suspiciously.

Kaoru’s eyes became unfocused as she lifted her head from Tony's shoulder, keeping her hand on Miss Parker's bare skin. "She's being pulled to the astral plane. Only she can do it and it must be done soon.” Blinking, Kaoru suddenly focused intently on Miss Parker’s face. “Trust in yourself.”

At the eerie familiarity of Kaoru speaking her great-grandmother’s words, Miss Parker's thoughts suddenly crystallized. She realized what was happening. She knew why.

Jarod reached over the gathering to cup her jaw. Their eyes met. Then his widened, "You know what's going on."

Miss Parker breathed in the scent of his skin and sighed. "I'm the Mother of Sentinels."

Everyone jerked, including every Sentinel in hearing distance, which meant pretty much all of them. They looked at her in awe. "I shouldn't know what that means, it’s the first I've heard of it," Blair breathed, "but somehow, I instinctively do know. You need to go."

"No, she doesn't," Jarod bit out, a muscle ticking in his jaw. "There's no guarantee she can come back if she leaves."

"Well we can't just sit around in this elevator debating all day," Gibbs pointed out gruffly.

Miss Parker gave a half-smile. She liked the no-nonsense Sentinel. "He's right. I’m done being the damsel in distress. I'm walking out of here with my barista and sushi twins."

"We have names, you know," sighed one of the girls touching her arm. Miss Parker ignored her.

She kept her eyes locked on Jarod's mulish face. "My Guide can support me on one side while the rest of you keep tethering me remotely. I will walk out of the Centre on my own two feet. I can’t have them seeing me weak or they’ll attack, like sharks detecting blood in the water. Once everyone's free, we'll figure out the next step. I’m stubborn enough to do that."

Finally Jarod gave a begrudging nod. "Fine, but I want everyone going as fast as possible across the lobby and outside. We have our people out there, but so do they."

The Pride had descended with all of the influential resources at their disposal, but the Centre had also mobilized while they’d been downstairs. Their assault team still controlled the lobby, but just barely. Thankfully it looked like no one had opened fire yet. They’d all been waiting to see what happened with Miss Parker.

"On three," Miss Parker ordered breathily, "and keep the kids protected in the middle."

Jarod sidled between Hermione and Blair, slipping his hand around her waist and under her untucked shirt to slide along the bare skin of her back until he had a good grip. Then he counted it off, "One, two, three." He tucked her firmly against his side and completely supported her weight as the others let go. She staggered.

However, she was a Parker and Parker’s weren’t allowed to be weak. She’d lived that mantra for decades. Now was no time to stop. Digging her fingernails into her hands, she concentrated on the pinpricks of pain along with the sensory profile of her Guide. She would not be carried out like a sack of potatoes.

Parkers built this place and now a Parker would destroy it.

"Let’s go," she ordered, spine straight and head held high. It took all her strength to keep one foot moving in front of the other, but she faked confidence as hard as she could as they moved through the Lobby. Her hearing disappeared into static and her vision went spotty, but she kept her chin up and her face stoic. She trusted Jarod to lead her where she needed to go. She trusted Jarod with everything.

Fresh air and bright light burst across her face. Sucking in a quick breath, she willed herself to stay conscious and kept following her Guide. Then Jarod wrapped both hands around her waist and lifted her up onto a bench inside a van, pulling her onto his lap and cradling her against his chest. Hands peeled back her clothes to reach bare skin as her Pride desperately tried to anchor her. Nevertheless, she knew it wouldn't be enough.

"Guide," she breathed, lifting her fingers weakly until they were taken and pressed against Jarod's wet cheek, kneading against his skin to memorize the texture one last time. She had to say one more thing before she went, just in case. "You're my… most important… missing piece, husband," she breathed. Then her spirit lost the fight and spun away from her body.

Miss Parker blinked and opened her eyes. She stood in the astral ocean with surf lapping up to her thighs and soaking the hem of her skirt. All the way to the horizon, the ocean glowed with spheres of light like a sky full of stars.

Kamiya-Sensei stood nearby, her unbound hair fluttering in the wind and catching in the long sleeves of her kimono. “Maybe I really was the prophesized Guiding Star,” she mused softly, touching the star-shaped scar on her chest. It stood out starkly in the light cast from the ocean depths. “So many times I feared it wouldn’t work, but you Parker women did it. You saved our people and redeemed your family.”

Turning, she smiled proudly. "You've done so well. You just have the one last piece and our people will be restored."

"And after that, I'm sure you'll be pushing me to do something else," Miss Parker said sardonically, but the Japanese woman shook her head.

"This is it for me. The end. My life debt to the Parker women has been repaid by my great-grand-daughter. I've guided you to this point and the bakemono and the altar have both been destroyed. It's time for me to rejoin my Sentinel and the rest of my family. I've missed them." Kamiya-Sensei smiled wistfully.

Swallowing, Miss Parker found herself admitting, "As annoying as I’ve found you, I'll miss you when you’re gone."

Kamiya-Sensei laughed. "I'll miss you too."

"What about me?" Hermione asked as she suddenly stepped out onto the beach.

"I'll miss both of you," Kamiya-Sensei grinned, "but I know we'll see each other again one day. I’ll look forward to it."

Hermione’s lip trembled. “Me too. Thank you for helping me.”

Kamiya-Sensei put out her hand and her black bear appeared beneath her fingers. "I have one last thing to teach you two, something that saved my life a long, long time ago. Watch."

Turning to her spirit animal, she stepped forward and merged their spirits, until only the shape of the bear remained. Then the bear shimmered and she came out so the two stood side by side once more. “Don’t forget,” she cautioned as her long black hair danced in the rising wind.

Then she turned to Miss Parker and bowed. "Mother of Sentinels, it is time to give birth to your people. Go now, before the seeds of our future become too scattered to reform. Your heart is strong enough for all of us. Believe in yourself. I know we all do," Kamiya-Sensei encouraged warmly.

Stepping forward, Hermione gave Miss Parker a hug. "Good luck."

"You carry our hopes and our love with you," Kamiya-Sensei said, joining their embrace. “Be true to yourselves, my dear ones,” she whispered emotionally.

Then the Japanese woman stepped back and began to glow. She became an almost blinding pillar of light. Squinting in the glare, they watched the light wing up into the sky with a blast of air. It merged with a rose-tinted cloud shaped like either a bird or a sword. Then both disappeared, leaving a flawless blue sky.

Turning to face the astral ocean, Miss Parker swallowed and nodded at the waiting Hatshepsut. She was ready. The octopus engulfed her in a warm embrace. Copying Kamiya-sensei, she shimmered and stretched until her body disappeared and they merged into one. It felt strange, but necessary. They wouldn’t have the strength to complete their task otherwise.

Gliding their long arms through the water, they shot through the ocean to gather up their brood. Hermione merged with her dolphin to accompany them at first, but as they went deeper and deeper into the water to collect the scattered lights, the dolphin finally ran out of air and had to leave them. They didn’t notice when she didn’t come back.

Time passed strangely. They collected the light and formed it into eggs, incubating them beneath their tentacles until they matured. Then they released the eggs to the surface to hatch into new spirit animals. As soon as space opened, they gathered more of the seeds of light. Eventually, no more light could be found. Life on the floor of the astral ocean resumed its dark mystery.

Finally their last glowing egg matured. They came to the surface for the last release, feeling sentimental. Proudly they watching the infant spirit leave the water in a golden ball of light. It corkscrewed through the sky until suddenly the energy coalesced into a bright red bird with flame-like feathers, like the mythical phoenix.

Done with their task, they drifted, sinking back beneath the waves. They'd been together so long, they'd forgotten anything else. They'd forgotten how to think of anything but now, be anything other than _we_.

Time passed.

Until one day, a dolphin swam up and began chittering excitedly. They ignored it. The dolphin poked them with its nose. They tried to swim away, but it kept coming back.

Finally they gave in and let the dolphin push them up to the surface. In the sky above their heads flew a bird. It wasn't their final baby spirit animal, their special phoenix. It was a raven.

On seeing them, the raven went wild, flying in circles and cawing raucously. It was rather annoying actually, the way it wouldn't stop. _What do you want?_ They wondered as the raven kept his insistent calling. _What?!_ They felt like snapping.

Then _they_ flickered for a moment into _she_. _She_ remembered that this raven belonged to her husband and Guide. Her _Jarod_. But remembering was so hard. _She_ fell back into _they_.

The dolphin in the water shimmered, becoming a dolphin and a woman, a dolphin and a woman named _Hermione_. The woman spoke demandingly, but they couldn’t understand the sounds.  Hermione merged and unmerged with her dolphin again. Then she gestured insistently.

They remembered. Their Jarod was waiting. It took several tries, but finally, painfully and slowly, they unmerged, becoming Hatshepsut and Miss Parker once again. It hurt. They felt so weak. Hermione and the dolphin kept them from sinking back beneath the waves. Jarod’s raven flew loops above them cawing joyously.

"Welcome back," Hermione said in a voice choked with relief. "It’s time to return home. Your Guide is waiting. Relax and let me do all the work." Trusting her spirit to her cousin, Miss Parker let Hermione open the door back to the physical world and pull them both through.

Gasping at the heaviness of having a human body again, Miss Parker opened her eyes. Jarod’s too-thin face hovered above her, breaking into a relieved smile as she focused on him. “Welcome back, wife.” Tears dripped off his face and across her lips. She licked them off, greedy for the taste of her Guide, even if only his tears. However, she was so tired. Sleep dragged her back down.

It took her weeks to recover. Her body had essentially been in a coma while her spirit roamed. Jarod hadn’t been taking good care of himself while she’d been gone either. After a few scathing words on her part and a charge of hypocrisy she couldn’t honestly refute, they both agreed to follow the special diet designed to fatten them up and regain their strength. Luckily, Jarod and the Pride spared no expense to keep her healthy both during the ordeal and after it.

A lot had changed while she’d been gone. Coupled with her lingering exhaustion, she found it a bit overwhelming at first, so it took her a while to gather up the energy for more curiosity. But then Jarod became overprotective and wouldn’t tell her anything for fear she’d push too hard and relapse.

Miss Parker finally convinced Sam to smuggle her in a newspaper. For a few minutes she read in smug satisfaction. Then she noticed the date. “I slept for how long!?!” she shrieked.

“Thirteen months,” Jarod answered grumpily after rushing into the room and assessing the situation. He got upset at any mention of their separation. Miss Parker felt rather upset herself. _Thirteen months_! Their bad moods sparked an argument, but it quickly fizzled out and turned into snuggling on the bed. It took a good bit of cuddling and promises of never again and an extremely gentle and thorough session of lovemaking complete with sensory imprinting to restore their balance.

Finally she felt ready to take on everything. “Okay, what really happened while I was gone?” she asked from her position wrapped around her Guide with her ear resting on his bare chest.

Jarod’s fingers combed adoringly through her hair. “Well, to start with, you succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. The Sentinel and Guide population has skyrocketed around the world. Blair, Hermione, Kaoru, and a few other talented and trustworthy Guides, along with their Sentinels, have been helping me organize new SG Centers locally and internationally to support and train everyone. We had some problems initially, but things got easier since the American President’s daughter, one of the British Princes, and a few other important people came Online and got vocal about needing training and support for the SG Centers. A few countries experienced riots and surges of prejudice, but luckily that mostly died down a few months ago. There’s still a lot of work to do, but things are mostly stable.”

Miss Parker sighed. “It would be too much to hope that everyone would be happy about the resurgence. What happened with the Centre? Please tell me it didn’t weather the storm and come out on top.” Since he couldn’t see her face from where she’d tucked it against his skin, she allowed herself the weakness of closing her eyes as she braced herself for the news.

“The Centre is gone.”

Rearing up, she examined his face incredulously. “Gone? The Centre is like a cockroach. I’ve always expected it to outlast even nuclear winter.”

Jarod reached out and smoothed his thumb across her brow. Then he adjusted them so they could see each other’s faces as they talked. “The media coverage of our assault went international. It sparked worldwide outrage. Just minutes before we marched out, everyone up to the Chief of Police and the Governor himself claimed that the Centre was innocent and that the Prides were over-reaching themselves and needed to be supressed. Things were getting ugly.”

“Then we came bursting out of the doors, led by a gorgeous, commanding, and rare female Sentinel with our three kidnapped ducklings in tow. When word of your collapse leaked, people went crazy. You became a symbol of the resurgence of Prides across the world. Hackers bombarded the Centre servers and posted their ugly findings about the Centre’s activities on the internet. Even the Triumvirate is now on the verge of collapse due to the efforts of the African Prides. The Governor and Police Chief had to resign. The Centre was forced to close and the staff scattered. I rescued as many files as I could. Sydney helped a taskforce relocate the patients. Angelo’s in a nearby assisted living center. We have brunch every other Tuesday.”

“Then a few months ago, a hate group tried to bomb our Dover SG Center, rightly blaming us for the final resurgence. They didn’t succeed because our Sentinels caught them, but feelings ran very high for a while. I never officially confirmed who, but I’m pretty sure a group of our Pride members broke into a nearby military base and stole some ordinance to work out their emotions.”

Eyes widening, Miss Parker demanded, “Please tell me they didn’t go and kill a bunch of extremist nutjobs without an airtight alibi?”

Chuckling in surprise, Jarod answered, “Of course your first thought is their alibi, but no, luckily they didn’t murder anyone. Instead, they broke through the police tape around the Centre, which had become the symbol of our oppression, and precisely placed over two dozen explosive charges on the structure. By the time the police got there, the explosion was over. The building is now a pile of rubble. The authorities don’t have any firm suspects as the perpetrators luckily didn’t leave any evidence. I’ve been careful to discourage too many questions. I did send a few people some very nice fruit baskets though, including a Guide who’d served as an ammunitions expert in the army.” Miss Parker joined in his laughter, though if a few tears escaped their eyes, neither one mentioned it.

“So the Centre really is gone,” Miss Parker shook her head incredulously. “Any other bombshells for me before I hear about them in the news?”

“Nothing that will show up in the papers, but I do have a few pieces of good news,” Jarod grinned with excitement. “With the Centre gone and the two of us splashed all over the news, my family showed up!”

“Which ones?” she asked in surprise.

Jarod pressed his lips together as if about to burst and then breathed out, “All of them.” His eyes looked incandescent. “Mom and Dad, Emily and my clone Gemini, who goes by Jack now, and even our half-brother Ethan. They’re all here. Emily, Jack, and Ethan are all Online now too. Everyone has a big house just ten minutes from the SG Center.”

“That’s wonderful,” she said, sincerely happy that Jarod finally got his family.

“It is,” Jarod smiled. “They can’t wait to talk to you either.” She had mixed feelings about meeting his family, as there were bound to be hard feelings about her time working for the Centre, but decided to leave that discussion for another day.

Jarod continued, “Ethan came Online last, just a few weeks before you finally woke up. His spirit animal is this amazing fiery red bird I’ve never seen before. Sentinel Potter got very excited about it when he called to tell us that he and Kaoru Wakuda finally had their Honeymoon baby-”

“Wait, what?” she interrupted. “Harry and Kaoru had a baby? Already?”

“You were gone for thirteen months,” Jarod glowered, unhappy again.

Miss Parker sighed, “It had to be done and I said I was sorry already, alright? So the baby?”

Swallowing down his displeasure, Jarod threaded his fingers with hers. “Right, the baby. So Kaoru moved to Britain with Harry and they got married. We were invited if you woke up, but since you didn’t, I sent a card and a very nice gift. Last month, they called to tell us about the birth of their new baby boy, named Kenshin James Parker Potter.”

“Parker?” she repeated faintly.

“They wanted to honor you,” he swallowed hard, “just in case… well, and also because they met and bonded because of you.”

“Because of _us_ ,” she pointed out, trying not to cry, of all the ridiculous and sentimental things. It must be because she wasn’t fully recovered yet. She had to change the subject before she embarrassed herself. “So what’s so important about Ethan’s spirit animal?”

Jarod gave her a knowing look, but changed the subject away from the baby. “Ethan came in while we were talking. He said he’d had a feeling that Harry would recognize his bird. Harry got excited and called it a phoenix, like a real magical one, and is pushing Ethan to get special magic tutoring either here in the states or overseas with Harry and Hermione. Supposedly something about being in the Centre for so long near that altar in the basement suppressed his magic, but its waking up now. My parents don’t know about the magic thing, and you just barely woke up, so Ethan still hasn’t decided. For now he’s been enjoying family and figuring out how to be a Guide with his phoenix.”

A contented feeling rose from her belly. “My brother got my phoenix.”

“Hmm?” Jarod cocked his head in confusion.

She snuggled closer into his side. “The last spirit animal Hattie and I hatched was a phoenix. I knew he was special. I’m glad he chose Ethan.” Then she looked over, “is that the last of the important news, or is there something more?”

“Besides the fact that we’re going to be in charge of all the Prides as heads of the International SG Council now that you’re awake? Everything else can keep,” Jarod smirked.

“Wait, what?” she demanded, pulling back.

“Nope,” Jarod abruptly rolled them in the bed until she was trapped beneath his arms. “Business time is over, time for fun.” He nuzzled against her neck, bringing forth an undignified giggle from her throat.

“Jarod!” she wiggled to get away, stopped, and then wiggled with purpose to get closer to his body, wrapping one long leg around his waist to bring them closer.

“I’ve always loved your legs,” he groaned. Then he ran his hand down its length and squeezed high on her thigh, laughing huskily as she shuddered. “Oh no, I think I might see a rash forming on your skin. Obviously you need to imprint on your Guide again, Sentinel Parker.”

Sliding her hands down the hot, smooth skin of his back, she braced her forearms against his broad shoulders and arched up into his body. “Maybe I should consult with my husband about that first,” she teased, nipping his ear.

Breathless, Jarod replied, “Oh, I’m sure he’ll agree that you should always do what your Guide recommends.”

“I don’t know about _always_ ,” her voice went high-pitched as Jarod’s fingers went exploring and his mouth began sucking wet kisses down her neck and lower, “but in this instance, I’m sure you’re right. After all, imprinting is very important for a healthy Sentinel-Guide Bond.”

Then she abruptly rolled until she was on top and straddling Jarod. Gliding her fingers up his chest and across his arms, she leaned forward so she could thread their fingers together. Looking down at her Guide and husband, she couldn’t keep the words at the top of her mind from sliding down to fly out her lips, “I love you.”

Even if she hadn’t meant to say it, Miss Parker still meant it honesty, with every fiber of her being. She did love him. She refused make the mistake of never saying it like she had with Thomas.

Jarod tipped his head back and relaxed beneath her body, meeting her eyes as he dropped all of his emotional and mental shields. She felt him surrender everything to her. Everything. “My love is yours, I’m yours.”

Swallowing hard, she slid down until she completely covered his body. Keeping her eyes open, she delicately slipped her tongue into his mouth and memorized again how he reacted when they kissed: each taste, smell, sound, sight, and touch. Taking every precious bit of him, mental, emotional, and physical, she packed him up like a precious gift, enfolded him with the strength of her body and layers upon layers of diamond-hard shields to protect his mind.

Of course, Jarod couldn’t help but give back what he received, buffering her senses, stabilizing her mind, and providing a rock-solid place to belong where she was known, valued, and fiercely protected. The beauty of their connection was indescribable, no matter how much she tried. But then, just like every other time, being with Jarod proved too overwhelming to stay analytical. Her eyes slipped closed as she lost herself in sensation.

Making love with Jarod would never grow old. Neither of them had to pretend to be anything but themselves. As they merged their bodies and minds, Miss Parker knew that together they would make their own story, their own happily ever after. Together, they would be magnificent.

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for joining me on my massive crossover Sentinel journey! Yay!
> 
> FYI my favorite Pretender stories are by the author Phenyx on the Pretender Centre fanfiction archive. My all-time favorite story of hers is, “A Not so Perfect World.” Genius.
> 
> This is the third and last story in the Parker Triptych, a crossover series. Each story contains a female with the Parker family blood line (the Parker family is from The Pretender), the most ancient bloodline with Sentinel and Guide gifts in my world. I intend this trilogy to be a collection of stories that can be read either together or alone.
> 
> In the first story (The Guiding Star) set in Japan, we see the creation of a monster that will wipe Sentinels and Guides off the face of the Earth. (Rurouni Kenshin)
> 
> In the second story (Guide Resurgence) set in Britain, we see the monster destroyed by the descendants of those who created it. (Harry Potter)
> 
> In the third story (Mother of Sentinels) set in America, we see the restoration of Guides and Sentinels across the world. (The Pretender)


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